Vegetable Pasta Augratin Recipe

Vegetable Augratin Pasta Recipe

Fresh Vegetables, blanched and baked in a thick creamy sauce with a crust of cheese and homemade breadcrumbs seasoned with oregano, basil, and thyme. Perfect for dinner on this rainy Bangalore evening! I first came across this vegetable au gratin, many (long) years ago when I had lunch with a  friend who had attended a course in baking. Not having much exposure to a nondual- roti or rasam - sambar meal, I was bowled over by this tasty dish, bubbling with cheese and fragrant with herbs. Now, this is a staple at my dinner table and is so easy to put together.

When making the vegetable au gratin, chose colourful seasonal vegetables, which do not have high water content. So no zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes and the like. I have taken firm bell peppers, fresh cauliflower (lots of it), beans, broccoli, fresh green peas, carrots and potato. The pineapple is optional but does give an interesting flavour to the gratin.

It is also important to drain and then boil away as much of the water as possible from the vegetables, to keep the au gratin firm. Water content would make the au gratin mushy/ watery which affects both texture and flavour.

Ingredients:

• 200 gm boiled pasta conchiglie
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 capsicum (green pepper)
• 1 cup baby corn
• 4 tablespoon butter
• 2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 7 medium potato
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2 cup onion
• 1 handful onion rings
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cheese cubes

Recipe:

• Step 1 Chop all the veggies

           To prepare this pasta recipe, first, wash all the veggies. Next, cut the bell peppers in half. Finely chop half the bell peppers separately and cut rings of the other half. Then, chop the onion and keep it aside. Finally, chop the baby corn as well.

• Step 2 Make white sauce

           For the white sauce, mix 2 tbsp butter with 1 tsp salt, pepper, milk & maida in a bowl and keep aside. Make a paste of all these ingredients.

• Step 3 Sauté all the veggies

           Now, put a pan over medium flame and sauté onion in butter for a minute. Add bell peppers in it and sauté for another minute. Next, add baby corns in the pan and sauté for one minute.

• Step 4 Mix white sauce with veggies

           Now, add the white sauce to the veggies. Keep stirring, so that no lumps are formed. Bring it to a boil and add boiled pasta to it. Mix well and add 2 cubes of grated cheese to the mixture. Stir well and switch off the gas.

• Step 5 Place pasta over mashed potatoes

          In a greased oven-proof glass vessel, make a bed of flavoured (with salt and pepper) mashed potatoes and pour the pasta over it.

• Step 6 Bake the pasta with mashed potatoes for 15 minutes

           Now, place the onion and bell pepper rings. Cover it with grated cheese, and bake it in a preheated oven at 200°C-220°C for 15 minutes

• Step 7 Serve hot

          Once the cheese starts browning take the vessel out carefully. Serve hot.