Veggie Pasta in a cheesy Parmesan sauce

July 13, 2012 by Archana

I made this Pasta earlier this week, but just got lazy to write up the post. Just boil the pasta, stir-fry/cook veggies of your choice, make the sauce and then assemble everything together. Sounds a little time taking but it is quite simple and the good thing is you make your own homemade sauce.

Prep + Cook time: 50 mins

Serves: 4

Recipe

– Pasta – 2n1/2 cups (I used 1/2 box of multi-grain elbows)

– Bell Peppers – 2 (use colors of your choice)

– Spring onions – a bunch cut cross-length-wise

– Green peas – 1/2 cup

For the sauce,

– Low fat milk – 2 cups

– Butter – 2 tsps (or substitute with oil)

– Flour – 3 tsps (all-purpose or whole wheat)

– Parmesan cheese grated – 3/4th cup

– Salt – 1 tsp + 3/4th tsp when boiling pasta + 1/2 tsp when frying the veggies

– Ground pepper – 1 tsp

– Herbs of your choice – a handful (I used coriander leaves) + some for garnish

1. Get a pot with around 5 to 6 cups of water to a boil. When it begins to boil, add about 3/4th tsp of salt. After a minute or two, add pasta and let cook as per the directions on the box. I used multi-grain pasta and had to cook them for around 8 to 9 minutes. When done, I saved a cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce, drained all the remaining water and moved the pasta back into the pot and set aside.

2. In a non-stick pan, heat about a tsp of oil. Add spring onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Now, add bell-peppers and green peas or any other veggies of your choice. Saute well for around 5 to 10 minutes until they are nice ans soft. Turn off the stove and set aside.

3. Now, take a sauce pan and add about 2 tsps of butter. You could instead use oil too. When the butter melts add about 3 tsps of flour and stir well on low heat until they are well combined. The flour gives the sauce some needed thickness.

4. Add milk and 1 cup of pasta water at this point . Heat for about 5 minutes and then add the Parmesan cheese. Stir well to smooth out any lumps. Add salt, ground pepper and chopped up herbs now. Cook for around 6 to 8 minutes, adjust seasoning if needed and remove from heat.

5. Time to assemble everything together. Add all the veggies to the pasta and toss it around lightly. Now, add the sauce to the pot and toss around well to coat the pasta well enough.