A few nights ago we enjoyed a meal mostly prepared by Roo, my seven-year-old daughter.
She’d told me the evening before that she wanted to cook dinner the next night. The following morning I asked what ingredients she would need, expecting a joke. Instead she replied, “Do we have a selection of vegetables, a tin of tomatoes, some herbs and some pasta?”
I was pleasantly surprised. Late in the school term she had designed and made a pasta sauce at school, so I trusted her ability. She took charge of the whole process: choosing the vegetables, asking me to chop some while she prepared others, deciding how to cook them, stirring the sauce and grateing the vegetables she wanted finely.
When I prompted her about protein, she chose crispy bacon scattered on top and suggested toasted sunflower seeds for extra texture. The result was a delicious, colourful pasta, and I promised to put the recipe on my blog — which I’m delighted to do.
So here it is: Roo’s special vegetable pasta with crispy bacon and seeds. If my seven-year-old can make it, anyone can.
Vegetable Pasta with Crispy Bacon and Seeds
Pin Recipe
4 adults
Roo Montague!
Ingredients
- Half a red onion – finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic – finely chopped
- 1 large carrot – grated
- 3 florets of broccoli – broken into small pieces
- Half a red pepper – chopped
- Handful green beans – chopped into 2cm pieces
- Half small courgette – grated
- 400 ml tomato passata – sieved tomatoes
- 1 tsp mixed herbs or a handful of chopped fresh basil if you have it
- Sprinkle chilli powder to taste
- 1/4 tsp stock powder – I use Marigold
- 4 tbsp sunflower seeds – toasted in a frying pan until golden
- 4 rashers bacon – grilled or fried until crispy
- Handful pitted black olives – chopped (optional)
- 320 g gluten-free pasta
Instructions
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Place the onion, carrot and red pepper in a large pan with approximately 50 ml of water. Cook on low heat with a lid for about 10 minutes until the vegetables soften, adding a little more water if it evaporates.
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Add the remaining vegetables and cook for another 5–10 minutes, keeping enough water in the pan to prevent sticking.
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Remove the lid and let any excess water evaporate. Stir in the passata, herbs, stock powder and chilli powder. Simmer on low for 5–10 minutes until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender.
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While the sauce cooks, toast the sunflower seeds in a dry frying pan until golden and cook the bacon until crispy. Chop the olives if using.
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Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain and rinse when done.
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Combine the drained pasta with the vegetable sauce, stir well and serve topped with chopped crispy bacon, toasted sunflower seeds and olives.
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To make the dish vegetarian or vegan, omit the bacon and add grated cheese, beans or another plant-based protein.
What have your kids cooked for you this summer?