Veggie Pasta Au Gratin

Italian food in the U.S. has always been confusing to me. Apart from the cheese, marinara and pesto, I’ve seen very few Vegetarian Pasta options. Though I love Pasta, I have always craved for more flavours in it. Then, one day, my friend suggested a dish with vegetables and white sauce. This was served with bread in her house.

I learned the recipe for the “Veggie Au Gratin” and tried to infuse it with Pasta and trust me, my husband and I loved it.

Ingredients

White Sauce

1 tbsp - Butter

2 tbsps - Wheat Flour/ All purpose flour

½ cup - Milk

Salt

Pepper

Vegetables

Green peas

Corn nib lets

Potatoes

Carrots

Bell peppers

Pasta of your choice, olive oil, and Italian seasoning.

Method

 White Sauce

Heat the butter on low heat. Once it melts, add the flour and mix well. Once the flour becomes crumbly, add the milk and let it boil for while. Stir constantly. When the mixture thickens a bit, add salt and pepper. Mix well and remove from stove.

Pasta

Boil pasta with a little salt in a pot. Once the pasta is done, drain the excess water and let it cool.

Chop the vegetables into small pieces. Sauté the chopped vegetables in olive oil; add salt and Italian seasoning. In a big pan, mix the cooked pasta,  sautéed vegetables and the white sauce well. Preheat the oven at 350°F. Grease a baking dish with a little butter and pour the mixture in.  Add grated cheese and bake for 10 – 15 minutes.

Garnish with freshly ground black pepper or red chilli flakes.

Note - The white sauce proportions given here work well for the pasta recipe but it you are making white sauce for anything else the proportions are - equal amounts of flour and butter and milk (10 times the amount of flour and butter). So if you take 1 tbsp each of flour and butter, you will need 10 tbsps of milk. (This information is from a student of Hotel Management).
Also, if you are using coarsely ground whole wheat flour, make sure your sieve it before using. Else the white sauce might get lumpy.