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The Roasting Tin: Goat's Cheese, Pesto and Pepper Traybake recipe

Name: The Roasting Tin: Goat's Cheese, Pesto and Pepper Traybake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil; 3 peppers, roughly chopped (I used red and yellow); 500g mushrooms (I used chestnut and button); 4 cloves of garlic, chopped; 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped; sea salt and black pepper; ½ tsp dried chilli flakes; 300g fusilli; 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (800g); 150g pesto; 240g firm goat's cheese log (sliced into rounds); Handful of Parmesan cheese, grated

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A cheesy, pesto-topped pasta traybake with plenty of veg. Like most of the Roasting Tin recipes it's largely hands-off and leftovers make a great lunch the next day.

Prep10m
Cook50m
Total1h

pasta roasting-tin vegetarian

The Roasting Tin Goat's Cheese, Pesto and Pepper Traybake

I really like Rukmini Iyer’s Roasting Tin recipes and this is a particularly good one. Start by roasting mushrooms and peppers in a large tin then, as they cook, boil some pasta and add it to the tin along with chopped tomatoes, pesto and goat's cheese. Keep roasting, go off and do something else, and dinner’s ready.

I follow the recipe exactly apart from one small change; I boil the pasta for 6 minutes rather than 11 so it’s very nearly cooked but not quite. My reasoning is that mushrooms release a lot of water and there’s also the juice from the tinned tomatoes. The pasta roasts in the oven for 30 minutes, which is plenty of time for it to absorb the liquid from the vegetables and soften up. I’ve learned this after making many soggy pasta bakes - if I don't undercook the pasta it loses its texture (I should say that I'm fussy about al dente pasta and noodles).

The pasta in the picture is a new favourite - it’s a high fibre fusilloni from M&S, with 61% durum whole wheat semolina. It’s lighter than most whole wheat pastas and the shape is versatile and satisfying.

Notes

I use a 37 x 27 x 6.5cm roasting tin.

Recipe credit

The Roasting Tin (affiliate link) by Rukmini Iyer

Recipe

The Roasting Tin: Goat's Cheese, Pesto and Pepper Traybake

Prep10m
Cook50m
Total1h

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
3 peppers, roughly chopped (I used red and yellow)
500g mushrooms (I used chestnut and button)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
sea salt and black pepper
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
300g fusilli
2 tins of chopped tomatoes (800g)
150g pesto
240g firm goat's cheese log (sliced into rounds)
Handful of Parmesan cheese, grated

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and fill and boil your kettle.
Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large roasting tin (mine measures 37 x 27 x 6.5cm). Add 3 chopped peppers, 500g of mushrooms, 4 chopped cloves of garlic, the chopped leaves from 3-4 sprigs of rosemary, 2 teaspoons of sea salt, a good grinding of black pepper and ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes. Mix well, put the tray into the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting, put a large saucepan of salted water over a medium heat and once it boils, add 300g of pasta. Set a timer for 6 minutes and when it sounds, taste the pasta. It should be almost cooked but not quite - as if it needs another minute or so. Drain the pasta into a colander.
Once the 20 minute timer sounds, add the pasta and 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (800g) to the roasting tin. Mix everything well then spoon over 150g of pesto and top with 240g of goat's cheese rounds. Finish with a handful of grated Parmesan cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes - it's done when the traybake is bubbling and the cheese has turned golden brown.