Super Veg Pasta

Photo Credit: food.pinbig.com

Ingredients: 

• 2 red peppers , quartered and deseeded
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ¼ tsp crushed chillies
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 600ml vegetable stock
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• small handful basil, leaves shredded
• 500g bag fresh egg pasta, cooked.

Directions:

 
Pasta sauce 

1. This sauce freezes well and is really versatile so it’s worth making a double batch, then jazzing it up by adding olives or prawns. Plus, if your children don’t like the vegetable bits, you can just blend the whole thing.

Pasta

1. Heat the grill and pop the peppers, skin-side up, underneath for 10 mins or until beginning to char. Transfer to a bowl, cover and set aside. When cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and cut the flesh into strips.
    
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the fennel, onion and carrot for 8-10 mins until softened. Stir in the garlic, crushed chillies, fennel seeds and tomato purée, cook for 2 mins, then add the canned tomatoes, stock and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 mins or until the vegetables are completely soft.
    
3. Take out a couple of spoonfuls of the sauce (this will later add texture), then blend the rest in the saucepan until almost smooth with a stick blender. Simmer for 5 mins to thicken, then stir in the reserved sauce, shredded basil and peppers. Serve with the pasta.

Original Recipe: food.pinbig.com