Recipes
Recipes

Red lentil and pepper ragu pasta bake

Sneak in tonnes of veggies and bulk out a family favourite with legumes.

Sneak in tonnes of veggies and bulk out a family favourite with legumes.

Cooking Time

Cook: 1 Hour 15 Mins

Cooking Time

Serves: 6

Cooking Time

Price: £1 per serving

Nutritional Information

Each 583g serving contains

Energy
15076kj
618kcal
31%
Fat
16.3g
Low
23%
Saturates
8.2g
High
41%
Sugars
15.7g
Low
17%
Salt
0.64g
Low
11%
4
of your 5-a-day
of your reference intake.
Typical energy values per 100g:
2586kj/618kcal

Ingredients

30g Unsalted Butter

30g Plain Flour

100g Mature Cheddar, grated

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Stick of Celery, thinly sliced

1 Courgette, coarsely grated

1 Carrot, coarsely grated

2 Peppers, deseeded and finely chopped (we used 1 red and 1 orange)

2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

300g Red Lentils

2 tbsp Tomato Purée

2 x 400g Tins Asda Chopped Tomatoes with Herbs

1 Low Salt Vegetable Stock Cube

300g Asda Rigatoni Pasta

20g Vegetarian Hard Cheese, grated

360ml Semi-skimmed Milk

Method

1
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, celery, courgette, carrot and pepper, then season well and cook for 10–12 mins until softened and the moisture has evaporated. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
2
Add the lentils and tomato purée then stir well until coated in the mix. Pour in the tomatoes, then fill each can with water, swirl and add to the pan with the stock cube. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20–25 mins until thickened and the lentils are tender.
3
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to pack instructions and preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Drain the pasta, reserving half a mugful of the cooking water.
4
To make the white sauce, add all the ingredients to a saucepan, season with salt and pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins, stirring all the time until everything has combined, thickened and the cheese has melted.
5
To assemble, stir the pasta water into the ragu then toss with the cooked pasta. Spoon into a deep 30x20cm dish then pour over the white sauce. Sprinkle with hard cheese then bake for 20–25 mins until golden. Allow to stand for 5 mins before serving.