Making vegetables appetising to those who are not naturally convinced of their goodness can be tricky (this penne will please all palates though!). Rather than relying on butter, cheese, and sugar (which can make anything taste good but are not necessarily very good for one’s health), it’s best to embrace the techniques that maintain the nutritional integrity of vegetables. Some of the best tricks include using veggies in meat-centric dishes to replace the meat so that the overall dish is familiar and appetising, as well as seasoning and preparing vegetables the same way you would meat.
To help make sure that you hit your veggie intake, culinary artist Theo Mannie of Granny Mouse Country House and Spa shares this Spicy Tomato, Mushroom and Olive Penne – one of his best vegetarian recipes!
Ingredients
- 1 red chilli, chopped
- 300g button mushrooms sliced
- 100g pitted black olives
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 200g penne
- 15g garlic, crushed
- 20g butter
- 1tsp sugar
- 1tsp vinegar
- 150g feta
- 20g fresh rocket
- Salt and pepper
Method
Boil the pasta, strain and cool before setting aside.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter on high heat. Add the mushrooms and olives. Sauté for about 4 minutes or until the mushrooms become golden brown. Add the tomato and garlic, continue to sauté for a minute before reducing the heat.
Pour in the vinegar and add the sugar. Once the tomato has cooked out, add the pasta into the sauce. Cook for a further 3 minutes and season to taste.
Once plated, scatter both the rocket and feta over the pasta.
Serves 2
ENJOY!
