Mmunity Community cookbook cookbook

CREaMY RICOTTa & MUSHROOM PaSTa WITH BaSIL PESTO

Serves 4

Ready in 30 minutes

Ingredients

Pasta

■ 400g wholemeal penne

Sauce

■ 350g mushrooms, grated

■ 2 carrot, grated

■ 1 drizzle of olive oil

■ 11⁄ tsp brown sugar

■ 1 tsp Italian herbs

■ tsp dried basil

■ tsp ground fennel

■ 1 tsp sweet paprika

■ 800g can crushed tomatoes

■ 1 cup vegetable stock

■ 125g lite sour cream

Topping

■ 1 courgette, peeled into ribbons

■ 200g ricotta

■ 4 Tbsp basil pesto

■ 1 drizzle of olive oil

Method

Preheat oven to high grill. Boil a full kettle of water. If you don’t have an ovenproof frypan, set aside a baking dish.

Cook pasta: Add boiling water to a pot and bring back to the boil with the lid on. Once pot of water is boiling, cook pasta for 10-12 minutes, until just tender. Drain and return to pot.

Prep sauce: Grate mushrooms and carrot. Peel courgette into ribbons and set aside separately.

Simmer sauce: Heat olive oil in an ovenproof frypan on high heat. Cook mushrooms and carrot for 4-5 minutes, until softened and browned. Add spices and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant. Add canned tomatoes and stock to pan, stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a further 6-7 minutes, until sauce has reduced slightly. Season lightly with salt. Remove from heat and stir through sour cream. Transfer to baking dish, if using.

Finish pasta: Add pasta to sauce, toss to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper. Scatter over courgette ribbons. Dollop over ricotta and pesto. Drizzle with olive oil to finish.

Grill pasta: Grill pasta on upper oven rack for about 5 minutes, until bubbling and courgette is golden.

Serve: Scoop pasta into bowls and enjoy!