Whole Wheat Penne with Creamy Basil & Veggie Sauce

whole-wheat penne in creamy veggie sauce

What do you do when you have a whole lot of fresh veggies left over and some fresh basil? You make some good pasta :) and send it over to Cate for her weekly ARF/5-a-day round up!

All the veggies mentioned in the recipe can be used as is, some new ones can be thrown in or some of them can be substituted with others - like spinach can be substituted in place of the mustard greens etc.

Software
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• 10 oz whole-wheat penne pasta
• 1 sm. onion, sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups frozen brocolli
• 2 cups of fresh mustard greens/spinach, chopped
• 9-10 baby carrots, cut in circles
• 1 small zucchini, cubed
• 15-20 cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 green onions sliced in circles
• 1 tbsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• salt, to taste
• milk, about 2 cups
  
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped ingredients for the pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Hardware
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• One large saucepan for the pasta
• One medium-small saucepan for the sauce

Method
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• Put a large saucepan of water on heat. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. While the pasta is cooking make the sauce as below.
• Put the smaller sauce pan on medium high heat. Add the oil.
• After the oil heats up, add the onion and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent.
• Add the carrots, zucchini and brocolli. Cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the mustard greens, tomatoes and two thirds of the green onion. Add the black pepper, red pepper flakes (if using), salt and cook for about 2-4 minutes until the greens wilt and the tomatoes and soft to touch.

pasta sauce before adding the milk

• Add the milk (about 2 cups) so all the veggies are well covered. Cook until the milk comes to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add the parmesan cheese and two thirds of the chopped basil.

pasta sauce already to roll

Mix in the sauce with the pasta, add in the rest of the basil and the green onions. Serve.

Kitchen Notes: The reddish tinge in the pasta totally came from the small cherry tomatoes.
You may need to add more milk depending on the amount of veggies you add.