Vegetable & Pasta Bake / Baked Vegetable & Pasta

Its been quite a few months since I tried any pasta dish. I even forgot about pasta..

I don't know why it happened, but it happened..I know it happens often to me like this..

Enough explanations…

Now I am remembered and got some wonderful shaped pastas…So I am ready to cook with it again..

I thought to make some baked pasta dish yesterday and made a baked pasta dish yesterday itself..I added some vegetables to it and turned it like a baked vegetable pasta dish..It came out so good, I can't wait to share it with you..Hence I am posting it immediately..

There are two kinds of sauces going in it. One is a vegetable sauce and another one is a cheesy white sauce, which makes the pasta hold together and crisp up beautifully in the oven.

 I topped it with some extra mozarella cheese on top to make it even more cheesy cheesy..

You know I like everything more cheesy..

Enough talking ( I talk a lot) off you go to the recipe..

Ingredients:

Pasta - 3 cups ( any shape, I used disc)

Water - 8 cups

Salt - 2 tblspn

For Vegetable Mixture:

Olive Oil- 2 tblspn

Garlic - 4 cloves minced

Zucchini - 1 large diced

Bell pepper - 1 diced

Carrot - 1 diced(optional)

Mushrooms - 1 cup diced(optional)

Oregano - 1 tsp

Red Chilli Flakes - 2 tsp

Tomato ketchup - 3 tblspn

Salt to taste

For White Sauce:

Butter - 1/4 cup

All purpose Flour / Maida - 1/4 cup

Milk - 500 ml

Mozarella Cheese - 1 cup grated

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

For Topping:

Oregano - 1 tsp

Red Chilli Flakes - 1 tsp

Mozarella Cheese - 1/2 cup grated

Method:

Step 1: Cooking Pasta

Take water in a large pot and add salt to it. Bring this to a boil.

Add pasta and cook as per package instructions. Drain and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Cooking Vegetable Sauce

Now make the vegetable sauce. Heat olive oil in a pan.

Add in minced garlic and saute this for a min.

Add in all the vegetables and toss well for 3 mins.

Add in salt, oregano, red chilli flakes and tomato ketchup. Mix well. Vegetable sauce is done.

Step 3: Cooking White Sauce

Now make the white sauce. Heat butter in a pan.

Add flour to it and saute for a min.

Slowly add in milk and mix well.

Cook everything for 3 mins.

Add in grated cheese and mix well.

Season with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Assembling and Baking

Preheat the oven to 200 degree C / 400 degree F.

Pour the vegetable mixture and white sauce over the cooked pasta and toss well.

Transfer this to a butter baking dish and sprinkle oregano and chilli flakes over it.

Bake this in a preheated oven for 25 mins.

Remove this from oven and sprinkle cheese over it and bake again for 5 mins.

Remove it carefully and allow it to cool a bit.

Serve with some garlic bread.

Pictorial:

Take all your ingrediants..Add Red Chilli flakes too..

I am using a disc shaped pasta for this

Boil lots of water with some salt

add pasta in

drain it and set aside

Now make the vegetable sauce..Heat olive oil in a pan

add in miced garlic

add the vegetables

sprinkle some salt

sprinkle in red chilli flakes and oregano..

pour some ketchup

done..Set this too aside

Now make the white sauce..Heat butter and add in flour

mix well and cook it

pour in milk

and mix well

add in grated cheese

season with salt and pepper

Sauce done

Now lets mix...Take pasta in a bowl

add vegetable mixture

and white sauce

mix well...I know that looks like a mess, but it taste so good

Transfer this to a greased bowl

sprinkle with oregano and red chilli flakes

bake it in oven

till the top is golden and crisp

sprinkle some grated cheese

and bake it for few minutes till all melts

serve with garlic bread