Kids will think this is just pasta with tomato sauce, topped with cheese. Little do they know there are vegetables hidden in the sauce. Great for kids with sensory issues or kids who don’t like to see “bits” in their food.
INGREDIENTS:
- 600grams gluten free penne pasta
- 1 brown onion
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 zucchini, finely diced
- 1 Cup Cauliflower, cut into small florets
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 bottle Tomato Passata sauce
- ½ Cup water
- 1 tsp. mixed dried herbs
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive
- 1 Cup Mozzarella or Tasty cheese or a mixture of both.
METHOD:
- Preheat oven to 200ºC. Grease a large casserole dish.
- Heat a large saucepan, cast iron pot, or a deep stovetop pot, on medium high heat. When it’s hot, add oil. Add in onion and cook for 2 minutes until soft.
- Add crushed garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
- Put the vegetables in and toss them in the oil. Cook for 2 minutes to slightly soften.
- Pour in passata sauce. Add the water into the jar and swirl it around the jar to get the remaining sauce out. Pour it into the pan.
- Add in salt and herbs. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to low. Put the lid on and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until all the vegetables are nice and soft.
- After you have got the sauce under way and cooking, put the pasta on to cook.
- Make sure you cook the pasta in a large saucepan with a lot of water. Always put the pasta in water that is boiling. Add a bit of salt to the water and add the pasta in.
- When the pasta is done, drain and put it back in the saucepan you cooked it in.
- when the vegetables are cooked in the sauce, blend the sauce with a hand blender or food processor to make a nice thick sauce. If it is too thick you can add a little more water.
- Pour the blended sauce over the pasta and stir to coat all the pasta in the sauce. Pour it into the casserole dish and spread it out evenly.
- Top with cheese and place it in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and is nice and golden.