Pasta and vegetable casserole

This dish was made as part of “No Fuss American” menu. Please see here for the other dishes as part of this menu.

This pasta is a combination of vegetables and cheese sauce, baked with cheese topping. It was one of the best pastas that I have made. Instead of cutting and toasting the onions and tomatoes as per the book, I chopped the vegetables into very small pieces in the food processor and sauted them with some olive oil.

Ingredients to serve 4 adults

Cooked pasta: 2 cups(I used fusilli)
Tomatoes: 2 cups(chopped)
Onion: 1/2 cup(chopped)
Capsicum: 3/4 cup(I used red and yellow, cubed)
Garlic: 2 tbsp(chopped)
Oilve oil: 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Grated cheese: 4 tbsp(used while baking. I used britannia cheesiza)

Ingredients for the cheese sauce

Maida/All purpsose flour: 1 tbsp
Milk: 1 1/2 cup
Grated cheese: 4 tbsp(I used britannia cheddar)
Butter: 2 tbsp(at room temperature)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Procedure to make the cheese sauce

1.Melt butter in a pan, add flour and saute on a low flame for ½ a minute or till you get the aroma of the cooked flour.
2.Add the milk gradually while stirring so that no lumps form. Bring to a boil, by increasing the flame, but constantly stirring.
3.Add cheese, salt, pepper and mix well and heat till the sauce thickens.(around 10 to 15 minutes. It is OK if it is semi solid. When cooling down, it solidifies to a thick sauce)

Procedure for preparing the vegetables

1.In a pan/kadai, add olive oil.
2.Add the onion and garlic and saute.Then add the tomatoes and saute.
3.Once it is cooked, add the capsicum and saute for some more time.
4.Add salt and mix well. Put off the stove and keep aside.

Putting everything together

1.pre heat the oven to 200 degree C
2.Spread a layer of vegetables in a baking dish.
3.Tp with the cooked pasta.
4.Cover with the cheese sauce and top with the grated cheese.
5.Bake for 10 minutes or till the cheese is browned and serve hot.

Verdict: This was the best of all preparations for the dinner menu. Only negative point is that it is too in high in calories. May be the next time, I will reduce the amount of cheese used.