Vegetarian mains
Tomato & courgette pasta bowl
This is a light, one-pot dinner, where the taste of simply cooked vegetables shines through. If you can’t find small pasta shapes, break spaghetti into small lengths.
Cook's notes
Variation Swap the wheat pasta for some rice pasta or cooked beans, such as cannellini, to make a gluten-free version.
Ingredients
- sunflower or light olive oil, for frying
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 5–6 tomatoes, depending on size, skinned and diced
- 2 courgettes, cut into 2cm dice
- 2 carrots, cut into 2cm dice
- 1 litre chicken or good veg stock
- 200g small pasta shapes e.g. orzo, small conchiglie or macaroni
- handful of basil leaves
- 50g Parmesan or vegetarian alternative, grated
- olive oil, for drizzling
Method
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Step 1
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and fry very gently, stirring now and then to stop it catching, for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 2 minutes. Add the tomato purée, tomatoes, courgettes and carrots and stir for 2 minutes. Add the stock and season with salt and pepper.
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Step 2
Bring to the boil. Add the pasta, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the pasta is just tender. Shred the basil leaves and stir them into the sauce, with half the Parmesan. Check the seasoning and serve drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with the rest of the cheese.