Luscious Pesto And Vegetable Cannelloni
15 Sep 2014 5 Comments
in Fabulous Food Tags: basil pesto pasta, feeding kids vegetables, hidden veggies, meatless meals, meatless monday, vegetarian cannelloni
Meatless Monday’s don’t have to be boring with this very tasty Pesto and Vegetable Cannelloni!
This family favourite is a great way to get kids to eat vegetables they would probably screw their nose up to.
This recipe makes enough filling for 16 Cannelloni tubes.
LUSCIOUS PESTO AND VEGETABLE CANNELLONI
INGREDIENTS
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 handful of baby spinach leaves
1 can of chick peas, drained
2 tablespoons of basil pesto
1 500ml bottle of tomato pasta sauce
1 quantity of cheese sauce or 1 cup of grated cheese.
METHOD
– Preheat oven to 180C.
– Place the carrots and sweet potato into a large microwave safe container and add 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook on high for 5 minutes.
– Drain off the water, add the baby spinach and cover for 10 minutes. (This will allow the spinach to wilt without cooking it)
– Add the drained chick peas and basil pesto.
– Season with salt and pepper.
– Use a stab blender to mix and chop all the ingredients until relatively smooth.
– The easiest way to fill the cannelloni shells is to use a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag, use two freezer bags (one inside the other), cut a small hole in one corner and fill.
The trick to successfully filling cannelloni shells is to hold the freezer bag close to the tube and push small amounts in at a time.
I have a piping bag, but I hate cleaning it, so the freezer bag method is my favourite, when you have finished you just throw it in the bin!
– Arrange the cannelloni shells in a single layer into a baking tray, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
– Pour the tomato pasta sauce over the cannelloni and spread evenly over the top.
– Pour cheese sauce over the prepared cannelloni or sprinkle with grated cheese.
– Place in the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes. Check with a skewer to make sure the pasta is soft before serving.
– Garnish with some fresh greens, or a tossed green salad.
You can also use this vegetable mix to make lasagne instead of cannelloni. Simply pour a little of the tomato pasta sauce into the bottom of the baking dish, add a layer of lasagne sheets, followed by 1/3 of the vegetable mixture. Repeat twice more. Top with cheese sauce. Sprinkle a little extra grated cheese or parmesan and bake for 45 minutes.
Enjoy!
What is your favourite vegetarian meal?
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Curry Vegetable Puffs – Baked Not Fried!
08 Jul 2013 8 Comments
in Fabulous Food Tags: baked curry puffs, child friendly curry recipe, homemade curry puffs, meatless monday, vegetarian curry puffs
I love curry puffs, but I try to avoid anything fried, so I created these yummies that you bake!
They are easy to make, very tasty, great value and family friendly, curry flavour without too much heat so the kids will enjoy them.
This recipe will make 16 puffs, allow 2 to 3 person and serve with a nice fresh salad.
INGREDIENTS :-
1 medium brown onion – diced finely
2 medium potatoes, skin on – diced finely
1 medium carrot, peeled – diced finely
1/2 cup of frozen peas
2 teaspoons Keens curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 dessert spoon of brown sugar
4 sheets of shortcrust pastry.
METHOD :-
In a large frypan, spray with non-stick spray and over a low heat, add the onion, sugar and all the spices. Allow to cook for 3 minutes or until the onions are just starting to colour.
Add the diced vegetables and stir well to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of water so that the vegetables start to cook but don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir regularly and add a little more water as needed. You do want to end up with a dry mixture at the end, but not a burnt one. After 15 minutes, add the frozen peas and continue to cook until the other vegetables tender.
Remove pastry sheets from the freezer and place on the bench to defrost.
Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
Divide each pastry sheet into 4 triangles by cutting diagonally from corner to corner.
Place a heaped dessert spoon of the vegetable mixture and place in the middle of a pastry triangle.
Brush the edge of the triangle with water.
Fold the pastry over in half. Press gently together. Use a fork the press down on the two joined edges to help stop them from opening during cooking. Stab the top of the puff with the fork to allow steam to escape. Don’t overfill the puffs as the puffs will split.
Place on the baking sheets and bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes to ensure they brown evenly.
Enjoy these yummy vegetable treats, perfect for meatless Monday. They taste so good you won’t even miss the meat!
Do you enjoy curry?
Sharing for #IBOT with Essentially Jess
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