A medley of crunchy vegetables tossed with pasta served as a starter
Ingredients
200g bowtie pasta
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
carrots
1 punnet mushrooms
8 med baby marrows
1pkt mange tout beans
5ml mixed herbs
Salt to taste
Oil for stir frying
Method
Wash and prepare vegetables. Halve peppers and remove seeds and membrane. Clean carrots, peel skin off mushrooms, wash baby marrows and top and tail tout beans.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Cook pasta in large pot in enough salted boiling water until al dente. Once cooked, place pasta in a large bowl and keep aside. Rub the skin of the red and yellow pepper with a little oil and roast at 180°C until skin blisters.
Remove from oven and place in a plastic bag to allow to sweat. Once cooled, peel off the skin of the peppers. Slice peppers into neat strips and keep aside. Cut carrots into julliene and keep aside. Slice mushrooms and keep aside. Cut the baby marrows in half lengthwise and then cut each half at an angle forming halfmoons.
Heat a wok or fairly large pan. Add a little oil and stir fry carrots until just soft, but still crispy. Remove from pan and keep aside. Stir fry mushrooms until just browned. Remove and add to carrots. Stir fry marrows until just soft. Remove and add to carrot mixture. Add all vegetables to pasta and toss. Sprinkle with herbs and salt. Leave aside.
NB: Option – as you stir fry the veggies, add a little salt.
Salad dressing
100ml sunflower/olive oil
60ml lemon juice
5ml dried mixed herbs
20ml crushed garlic
2 chillies, finely chopped.
Salt to taste
Mix all the ingredients together and whisk. Check seasoning.
Pour the dressing over the warm veggies and pasta and mix through gently. Add the amount of dressing as desired, just to coat and give flavour. Place in a decorative bowl or serve in individual bowls as a starter. Leftover salad dressing can be refrigerated for later use.