Incredible Baked Pasta

I absolutely love pasta, in any shape or form providing of course it’s cooked well and remains al dente; my mother however will only eat baked pasta (pasta al forno).

So in order to fulfil my craving for carbs in the form of pasta and her likes/dislikes I set about finding another interesting lasagna recipe; I found it by way of an adapted version of Jamie Olivers Incredible Baked Cauliflower and Broccoli Cannelloni (from his latest book Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life).

Lasagna sheets were used instead of cannelloni because that was all I had in my store cupboard. Instead of adding the broccoli, I substituted with spinach and a sliced sweet red pepper.

The original recipe can be found here.

So how did my method alter? Well I sauteed a finely sliced onion and the pepper along with the garlic and then added the spinach at the same time as the cauliflower to the frying pan. Other than that everything was done down to the specifications made in the book. I must admit I was rather dubious as to how this was going to turn out, overcooked veggies? Well that doesn’t sound too great, but I have to admit it was fabulous.

Jamie was 100% correct when he advises the flavours will all intensify and become deep and rich.

The tomato sauce was slightly tangy and the white sauce rich and creamy with a slight edge because of the creme fraiche and salty cheese; that along side the sweet intenseness of the vegetables was stunning, a real taste sensation. A true keeper recipe.