Clean-the-fridge pasta bake

Name: Clean-the-fridge pasta bake
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 cups mixed firm vegetables such as onion, zucchini, capsicum, eggplant, mushrooms and carrot, cut into 2cm cubes; 1⁄2 cup olive oil, plus 1 tbsp extra for the sauce; 4 garlic cloves; 700ml tomato passata; 1⁄2 tsp dried oregano; 500g ricotta; 300ml thickened cream; 500g dried penne; 3 cups shredded cheese

Adam Liaw

April 6, 2023

Clear out the crisper for this adaptable pasta bake. William Meppem

easyTime:2 hours +Serves:4

Turn whatever you happen to have in the fridge into a crowd-pleasing vegetarian pasta dish.

Ingredients

4 cups mixed firm vegetables such as onion, zucchini, capsicum, eggplant, mushrooms and carrot, cut into 2cm cubes
1⁄2 cup olive oil, plus 1 tbsp extra for the sauce
4 garlic cloves
700ml tomato passata
1⁄2 tsp dried oregano
500g ricotta
300ml thickened cream
500g dried penne
3 cups shredded cheese

Method

Step 1
Heat your oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Toss the vegetables in the olive oil and season very well with salt and pepper. Place a piece of baking paper on a large baking sheet and put the vegetables on top. Cook for 75 minutes until the vegetables are roasted and lightly charred. Remove from the oven. (See note.)
Step 2
While the vegetables are cooking, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Fry the garlic briefly until fragrant, then add the passata and oregano. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Whisk the ricotta and thickened cream together until smooth.
Step 4
Boil a large pot of water, season well with salt and cook the penne according to the packet directions but start checking it two minutes before the recommended cooking time has finished. Keep the pasta slightly firm, but there’s no need to undercook it for a baked pasta dish
Step 5
Drain the pasta, reserving 1⁄4 cup of pasta water. Return the drained pasta to the pot and stir through the roasted vegetables, tomato sauce and reserved pasta water. Transfer to a large baking dish and pour over the ricotta mixture. Scatter with the shredded cheese and bake for 20 minutes. If needed, finish under an overhead grill to brown the cheese on top. Stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

Cooking 4 cups of 2cm diced vegetables in a single tray at 200C fan-forced (220C conventional) for 75 minutes might seem risky. But the vegies will be packed quite tight and will therefore release a fair bit of liquid.

The goal here is to caramelise and char the vegies to give flavour to the pasta bake, instead of simply cooking them (they’ll be “cooked” after about 30 minutes or even less).

Of course, if the particular vegetables you choose don’t release much liquid, you can cook them for less, or remove them if they look as if they’re burning.