The L-Plate Vegetarian

Pasta

Pasta is cheap, delicious, healthy, very easy to cook and can be transformed into many different dishes depending on the sauce you add! There are loads of different types of pasta. To cook basic pasta see the ‘How to Cook the Basics’ section.

Dried pasta: spaghetti, tagliatelle, macaroni, bows, twists or shells etc. They all taste very similar, they are just made into different shapes! Some come in different colours which are made by adding tomato or spinach etc – they still taste much the same but just look pretty.

Fresh pasta: the same as dried pasta except it hasn’t been dried and takes less time to cook. This sort of pasta is available in the chilled cabinets of your supermarket and it’s more expensive than dried, but it’s more tasty as you can buy it stuffed with different fillings. As usual always check on the packet that the one you’ve chosen is suitable for vegetarians.

The following are definitely worth trying:

• Duetto: Red & White – tomato and plain pasta, stuffed with Sundried Tomatoes, Ricotta Cheese and Herbs, or Sweet Peppers and cheese.
• Tesco: Sundried Tomato & Basil Pappardelle.
• Safeway: Cheese, Garlic & Herb Ravioli or Cheese & Sun-dried Tomato Tortelloni.
• Waitrose: Porcini Mushroom Raviolini – filled with mushroom, ricotta cheese and parmesan, or their Fresh Asparagus Florelli.

How to Serve Pasta

Stuffed pasta is delicious served simply with fried garlic, virgin olive oil or plain butter, and lots of freshly ground black pepper (toss butter into the pasta immediately after it has been drained). It is also lovely with one of the many sauces for pasta available in supermarkets (see section below). For a more substantial meal, serve with lots of salad and crusty bread (warm in the oven for 10 mins at gas mark 7/210??qC/425??qF).

Ready made garlic bread is great with pasta dishes (or anything else actually!). You can buy it in the chilled and freezer cabinets and just cook it in its packet in the oven then slice up. It is cheaper to make your own: cut a small French loaf (white or brown) in half lengthways, mash a crushed clove of garlic into 50g/2oz marg (or any spread suitable for veggies) and spread on the bread – you could add some fresh chopped parsley or a sprinkle of dried parsley, or herbs as well. Wrap in tin foil and heat up as for hot bread above but cook for about 15 mins, until the bread is hot and all the marg has melted.

Pasta Sauces

The easiest way to serve plain or stuffed pasta is with one of the ready made sauces in jars or tubs. They need to be gently heated in a pan until bubbling before pouring over cooked pasta. Try sprinkling over grated vegetarian Cheddar cheese, vegan Parmesan ‘cheese’ (from health shops), or perhaps top with nuts or olives.

Also try adding roasted vegetables to fresh pasta, they’re delicious. Simply marinate a selection of fresh vegetables overnight in some seasoned olive oil and roast in a medium-hot oven for around 45 minutes. Peppers are particularly delicious cooked in this way and if you prefer the idea of picking them up from the supermarket already prepared try the selection of ‘marinated and grilled vegetables’ from Waitrose including artichokes, aubergines and red/yellow peppers.

Some of the best tomato based sauces are made by Dolmio or Ragu and come in several varieties with different combinations of vegetables, garlic and chilli. All the supermarkets do their own brands which are just as nice and usually a bit cheaper! Always check the ingredients label and if you see meat stock or meat bouillon listed, look for a different sauce! Fresh sauces from the chilled cabinet are usually the nicest although they are usually more expensive, but all supermarkets do a good range for vegetarians.

There are also some lovely pastes made with nuts, sun dried tomatoes, olives and herbs etc. which you just warm through and mix in with the pasta. Pesto is made with pine nuts, olive oil and basil and has to be the easiest sauce to serve with pasta as it doesn’t need to be heated – you just pop a few spoonfuls of the sauce into hot pasta and stir.

There are absolutely loads of different sauces available, but here are a few to give you an idea, don’t forget to always follow the instructions on the tub/jar:

• Somerfield Fresh Sauces: Tomato & Mascarpone, Mushroom or Four Cheeses.
• Safeway Fresh Sauces: Red Wine & Mushroom or Sweet & Sour
• Asda Fresh Sauces: Leek & Gruyere or Arrabiata.
• Dolmio Two-Step: Sweet Peppers (the vegetables are on top of the sauce and are cooked first before adding the tomato sauce). Pasta Bake: Creamy Mushroom or Creamy Tomato.
• Loyd Grossman: Tomato & Wild Mushroom; Sweet Red Peppers; Tomato & Chargrilled Vegetables or Tomato & Basil.
• Seeds of Change: (All organic) Spicy Roasted Garlic; Roast Pepper; Sundried Tomato
• Sacla Pesto & Sauces: Char-grilled Aubergine; Roasted Red & Yellow Peppers; Whole Cherry Tomato & Chili or Mushroom & Marsala Wine.
• Co-op: Hot Chilli or Organic Sweet & Sour.
• Waitrose: Fresh Sauces: Include Arrabiata (tomato & chilli) and Napoletana (fresh tomato & basil).
• Homepride Pasta Stir ‘n’ Serve: Tomato & Basil; Tomato & Mascarpone and Sundried Tomato.

Ready Made Pasta Meals

Supermarkets have now realised we don’t all want to eat meat and there are veggie alternatives to some of the traditional ready made pasta dishes (they are much nicer than the meat ones!).

They are all in the chilled or frozen cabinets and you just pop them in the oven following the instructions on the packet. They are so nice it’s hardly worth going to all the effort of making your own – and they can usually all be frozen. Most supermarkets stock macaroni cheese, vegetable lasagne and spinach & ricotta cheese cannelloni, but there are an enormous amount of more exciting pasta meals available now. Some of our favourites are listed below for you to sample:

• Sainsburys: Pasta Penne Niciose (pasta quills in a tomato sauce with olives); Mozzarella & Tomato Penne.
• Tesco: Cheese & Garlic Mushroom Tagliatelle
• Asda: Creamy Mushroom Penne; Quick Bites Vegetable Pasta Bake.
• Linda McCartney: Spaghetti Bolognese; Lasagne (made with a minced beef-style substitute) and Kitchen Garden Roasted Vegetable Lasagne.
• Marks & Spencer: Four Cheese Ravioli; Cheese & Tomato Tortellini and Asparagus Lasagne.
• Safeway: Roasted Vegetable Pasta Bake; Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni; Halloumi Coriander & Chilli Fusilli.
• Waitrose: Garlic and Herb Tagliatelle with cheesy sauce.

Next Section: Rice and Noodles