Baked spinach and feta penne

Oh boy, is this a whole lot of reward for very little work!

Just what I'm all about these days. Life is biz-zay.

Anyhow, I mixed some al-dente cooked baby penne (the big ones freak me out) with a box of thawed and drained frozen spinach, a block of danish feta, 150ml cream, salt, pepper, a dash of grated nutmeg and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. I then topped it with grated cheese and baked it in a 180C oven for 20 or so minutes while I fed the baby and put her to bed. I browned the top under the grill. Amen.

I ate it the next day for lunch too, and although it wasn't as creamy, it was still awesome. The only problem was I had to eat it with a wooden coffee stirrer stick because I forgot a fork, and you have to pay for the plastic ones at the uni cafeteria. That sucks the big one. I soon got the hang of spearing it and getting it to my mouth without incident... in fact, I only dropped one piece in my lap, and even almost managed to hide it from my lunch acquaintance. Classy.

I'm teased constantly by my husband for being a gumby while eating. I have the best table manners of anyone I know, I eat tiny bites with even tinier cutlery, and I STILL manage to spill at least something.

Tell me - am I normal? Do you spill stuff too? I don't mean to! Argh!

Baked Moussaka Penne

I've never had the real moussaka, I went veg before I had a chance to try it. However, while I'm vaguely sure this wouldn't really taste like the real thing, it's still damn good in its own right!

Beneath that creamy bechamel layer is a gorgeous, rich sauce of tomatoes, eggplant and veggie mince mixed with perfectly-cooked penne. If you wanted to make it even easier, you could forgo the bechamel layer (I'm all for saving pots haha), but it adds that special something that makes an extra pot to wash at the end totally worth it.

I often put a bechamel layer on tomato-based sauces because I really don't like plain pasta sauce. I need a creamy element or I just won't enjoy it. My other arsenal is capers and olives... if I have to suffer through a bolognese or similar, these little flavour bombs get me through.

But sometimes, you just gotta do the bechamel.

Look at that thing.

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

1 eggplant, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 packet veggie mince (I used Sanitarium in this one)

1 jar pasta sauce

200g tomato paste

1 can diced tomatoes

pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk

1 bay leaf

small amount of grated fresh nutmeg

1 cup grated cheese

cooked penne

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Saute the onion in a little oil over medium heat 2-3 minutes. 

3. Add eggplant and turn heat up to medium-high and saute until soft. This might take a while and suck up a lot of oil, but if you don't saute now it will stay hard and uncooked in the finished dish.

4. When all is soft, add veggie mince and garlic, stir 1 minute.

5. Add pasta sauce, paste, tomatoes and a pinch of sugar. Turn the heat off and set aside.

6. For the bechamel, cook the butter and flour over low heat, stirring 1 minute.

7. Add the milk and bay leaf. Raise the temperature and cook, stirring, until thick and bubbling. I left mine a little thinner than usual so it would stay a sauce and not go too rubbery when cold. You might like to add a little milk. Grate a little nutmeg over and stir in.

8. Mix tomato sauce with penne and layer in a large casserole dish.

9. Pour bechamel over and top with cheese.

10. Bake in preheated oven 20-30 minutes until heated through and cheese is golden brown and bubbling.

Roasted Cauliflower Penne with Rosemary Cream

Poor cauliflower. A much-maligned vegetable. That is, of course unless it's covered in cheese sauce, or wallowing in glorious creaminess as soup.

I never knew roasting it could be so damn good.

Unfortunately its white-on-whiteness doesn't photograph well, but it IS delicious.

Ingredients

1 large clove garlic, halved

1 cup cream

3 sprigs rosemary, 1 sprig finely chopped

A pinch of ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 pound whole wheat penne pasta

1 head cauliflower, roasted

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more to pass around the table

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

To roast the cauliflower, preheat your oven to 220 C. toss bite-size florets in olive oil, add salt and pepper. bake for 30 minutes. Oh so sweet and uber-delicious.

Method

1. Rub the inside of a small saucepan all over with the garlic. Add the cream, the two whole rosemary sprigs and the nutmeg; season with pepper and cook over medium-low heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Discard the rosemary.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and transfer the pasta to a serving bowl. Add the rosemary cream, cauliflower and Pecorino Romano cheese; toss to coat.

3. Season with salt and pepper and top with the walnuts and chopped rosemary. Pass more cheese around the table. Easy peasy.

It's almost Rachael Ray week on Veggie Mama... haha. Recipe here.