The popular TV chef’s veggie pasta bake is a “family favourite” and is so simple to make – and you can even switch around some of the vegetables to suit what you have in the fridge at the time
As the chilly evenings creep in, there’s nothing quite like a scrumptious, home-cooked dish that brings both comfort and nutrition to the table.
It’s crucial to eat well during the winter months to maintain health and fend off those annoying cold germs. Jamie Oliver has just the recipe to meet these needs – a veggie pasta bake brimming with vegetables, contributing two of your five-a-day.
The celebrity chef describes this “family favourite” as super easy to whip up, with the flexibility to swap veggies based on what’s in your fridge. Designed to serve eight, it’s also incredibly economical at just £1.31 per serving.
“When it comes to family favourites, it’s pretty hard to beat a good pasta bake. Especially when it has a deliciously crunchy garlic-breadcrumb topping,” Jamie explains in a video on his website.
“This is my brilliant veggie principle recipe – with leeks, spinach and tomato, offering you two of your five-a-day – that you can flex to suit the ingredients you have in.”
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 x 170g loaf of garlic bread
- olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 leeks
- 1 bunch of fresh basil , (30g)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 3 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes
- 500 g dried pasta , such as orecchiette, conchiglie or gemelli
- 50 g Parmesan cheese , plus extra to serve
- 8 cubes of frozen spinach
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Peel and finely slice the garlic, trim and wash the leeks, then finely slice the white part. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into a large shallow casserole pan over a medium heat, add the garlic. Finely slice the basil stalks, add them to the pan with the oregano and gently fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the leeks to the pan, season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If they begin to change colour, turn down the heat.
Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of your spoon, then half-fill each tin with water, swirl around and pour into the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to low and leave for 15 to 20 minutes.
Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 8 minutes, then drain, reserving a mugful of the water. Put the sauce in a blender with most of the basil leaves (reserving a few to serve) and whiz until smooth, seasoning if needed.
Put it back in the casserole pan, stir through the cooked pasta, loosening with the reserved cooking water if necessary. Grate the cheese on top then place the frozen spinach into the pasta.
Sprinkle over the garlic breadcrumbs and bake for 20 minutes, until golden. After cooking, let it sit for a few minutes, then sprinkle over some basil leaves and Parmesan – and serve!
