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Healthy sausage pasta bake with hidden veg

The best cheesy sausage pasta bake with hidden veg.

Perfect recipe for fussy eaters!

Ingredients (makes six servings)

  • 8 good quality sausages
  • 320g wholewheat penne (or pasta of choice)
  • 2 small onions, peeled and diced
  • 1 leek, trimmed and cut into 1cm rings
  • 130g green beans, trimmed*
  • 120g celery*
  • 280g carrots, peeled*
  • 1 tsp each of oregano and thyme
  • 2x 400g tinned tomatoes
  • 150g low fat grated cheese
  • Handful of fresh parsley and 200g Tenderstem broccoli to serve (optional)

*If you have other vegetables, feel free to substitute similar amounts of them instead.

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Cook the pasta in salted water according the packet instructions. Ideally it should be quite al dente, as it will cook more in the sauce. Drain (reserving a little but of the starchy pasta water) and set aside.
  3. Brown the sausages on all sides in a large pan and remove with a slotted spoon. It saves on washing up if you use a casserole dish that can be used on the hob and in the oven.
  4. Spray a little oil into the pan and cook the onions and leek until slightly softened but not browned (about 5-10 minutes).
  5. Slice the sausages into bite-sized chunks and return them to the pan with the onions and leeks.
  6. Add the green beans, celery and carrots to a food processor and pulse until you have a rice-like consistency. Don’t go too far and blend them to a pulp; they shouldn’t be a liquid.
  7. Add the shredded vegetables to the pan and stir through. Cook gently for another 5 minutes until softened.
  8. Add the herbs and the tinned tomatoes, along with the drained pasta. At this stage, you can adjust the consistency of the sauce if necessary by adding some of the reserved pasta water. This optional. Taste the sauce and season as necessary.
  9. Stir half of the cheese through the sauce, and sprinkle the other half over the top.
  10. Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and molten.
  11. While it is in the oven, cook the Tenderstem broccoli according the packet instructions.
  12. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

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