Veggie Pasta Bake Recipe

🧂 Ingredients

• 3.5 cups butternut squash

  diced or kabocha squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms

  about 200 grams / 7 oz
• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion

  chopped finely, about 1 cup
• 1 red bell pepper

  diced, about 1 cup
• 3 large cloves garlic

  minced or grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ⅓ chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ cup sun-dried tomato strips

  chopped finely, used the ones stored in oil
• 1.5 cups tomato passata

  aka tomato sauce or marinara sauce (about 400 grams or 14 oz)
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves
• ½ cup pasta water when mixing in the pasta
• 6 cups pasta

  such as fusilli or penne, about 400 grams / 14 oz
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 cups grated Cheddar

  or Mozzarella or mix

Instructions

• 1 Prepare roasted squash. Preheat oven to 400 F/200 C. Peel and cut the squash
  into large cubes. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast
  on a large, flat baking tray for 25-30 minutes, until lovely and soft.
• 2 Cook the mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms. Saute in a large pan with a little
  olive oil and salt over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring every 2
  minutes, until golden brown.
• 3 Cook the pasta. While the above is happening, cook the pasta until just al
  dente. I like to reduce the cooking time by 1 minute as the pasta will continue
  to cook while baking and you don't want pasta that's too soft. Once pasta is
  cooked, reserve ½ cup of pasta water and strain the rest.
• 4 Make the tomato sauce. Add olive oil, onions and red peppers to another pan and
  saute over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. You want
  the veggies to get soft and almost caramelized.
• 5 Add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, pepper, chili, paprika and stir
  through. Follow with tomato sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• 6 Wilt the spinach. Finally, add the baby spinach and stir through; cook for 1-2
  minutes until wilted into the sauce. Taste for seasoning.
• 7 Combine the pasta.  Add the pre-cooked pasta to the sauce along with the
  mushrooms and most of the roasted butternut squash. Add the feta cheese and stir
  through. Place any remaining butternut squash pieces on top and finish the dish
  with grated Cheddar or Mozzarella.
• 8 Ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C (this can be done while you're
  assembling the pasta if making everything at once). Bake for 15-20 minutes until
  the cheese has melted and golden brown crust has formed.
• 9 Making-ahead. You can store pre-made veggie pasta in a baking dish overnight.
  Bring to room temperature (10-15 minutes out of the fridge) before baking.

Nutrition Info