Roast Vegetable and Polenta Pasta Bake

Cook Time 35 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Roasted Vegetables

600g button mushrooms, quartered

50g celery stalk, 1 cm diced

100g carrots, washed (only) 1 cm diced

100g capsicum, 1 cm diced 

100g red onion, 1 cm diced

1kg zucchini, diced 2 cm cubes

10ml extra virgin olive oil

Sauce

180g french lentils, cooked or tinned

10ml extra virgin olive oil

1 small clove of garlic, peeled & minced

50g tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

100ml dry white wine

800g tinned tomato pulp

15g salt

Pinch of black pepper

1 small handful of basil, finely chopped 

1 pinch of sugar

Pasta Topper

250g risoni pasta

50g tasty cheese, finely grated

5ml extra virgin olive oil

10g polenta

Method

Cook pasta until al dente, then refresh in chilled water and reserve for later. 

Preheat oven to 180°C. Toss carrots, capsicum, mushrooms, onion & zucchini in olive oil, then place onto a non-stick baking tray and roast for approximately 8 minutes or until al dente & golden.

Heat olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan, then sauté the garlic, tomato paste & dried oregano for 1 – 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add white wine and bring to a boil to allow alcohol to cook out. Add tomato pulp, salt, pepper & sugar, and bring the sauce to a simmer, then cook for a further 5 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken. Add the lentils and cook until tender. Stir through chopped basil.

In a bowl combine and mix tasty cheese, polenta, oil, and cooked pasta.

Place roasted vegetables in the base of a 30 cm x 15cm non-stick oven-safe dish, and pour over sauce ensuring it mixes through all the vegetables. Then top with a thin and even layer of the pasta cheese & polenta pasta mix. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is golden.

Divide and serve with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.