“Mmmh…” was the only thing heard around our table as we enjoyed our food. There are no words to describe how tasty it was! If you love baked pasta but think that it’s unhealthy for the little hands, then it’s time to reconsider! Try making this recipe for baked fusilli with sweet potato and spinach without any heavy cream. You’ll be thanking me that you can finally make baked pasta more often and not just for traditional festive dinners! And that’s because this is a light but tasty version with the fresh vegetable fusilli by Mama Irene Pasta, which adds even more nutrition to your plate! Read the article and make double the dosages, tomorrow!
What we are going to need
- Mama Irene Pasta vegetable fusilli. Delicate, delicious fusilli, handmade and kneaded exclusively with fresh vegetables, without added salt, ready in 3 to 4 minutes. The twists they make have the ability to hold the sauces. Always with no added salt, while the fresh vegetables they have include Florina peppers, spinach, beetroots, and their yellow colour is due to turmeric. You can find the vegetable fusilli at mamairenepasta.gr and you can get 10% off your purchase using the code “LITTLEHANDS” during checkout (shipping worldwide).
- Vegetables. Sweet potato, tomatoes, spinach, and onions. This dish wouldn’t be as tasty without the addition of the sweet potato. It’s what makes our baked pasta shine, and believe me, it’ll make you love it. You’ll need to peel and grate the sweet potato finely. You’ll also need to grate the tomatoes, and the onion is used chopped, but you can also grate it if you want. I used frozen spinach.
- Olive oil. Pure virgin olive oil.
- Tomato paste. Optional.
- Spices. Curry, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweet paprika, onion powder, pepper, and salt. The spices are suitable for children over the age of 6 months, in contrast to salt which is suitable only for children over the age of one year old, and even after that, it should be added in moderation. In general, you can skip the salt, especially if you’re using cheeses saltier than the ones I suggest.
- Coconut cream. I used 2 cans of coconut cream. This replaces normal heavy cream.
- Cheeses. I used grated anthotyros, the dry anthotyros we have here in Crete and grated mozzarella which melted beautifully. Both kinds of cheese are low in salt. You can add any grated cheese you might have, add only one kind of cheese or more than two, or adjust the quantities to your liking.
Tips for baked pasta
- You can make the baked fusilli either in a large ovenproof vessel or in smaller ones for individual portions.
- After you add the cream to the pasta, you don’t need to mix anymore.
- In the recipe, I mention that you should puree the vegetables before adding the fusilli. I tried mashing them with a fork, and with an immersion blender. We preferred the first version, but it was quicker with the immersion blender. Then, you add the fusilli and mix well.
- If you want, you can add more cheeses.
- It’s one of the foods that even though it’s amazingly hot, with the melted mozzarella, it’s equally enjoyable cold.
- You’ll need about 30 to 40 minutes until your food is ready.
How the little hands can help
- First, by selecting the vegetables in the grocery store.
- Then, washing the vegetables. This is everyone’s favourite, as it’s a water activity and the little hands love playing with the water.
- Give them the cheeses to grate, always under your watchful eye.
- They can also add the ingredients for the cream, mixing the coconut cream with the cheeses.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Add a little olive oil to an ovenproof vessel along with the chopped onions and put them in the oven for 8–10 minutes.
Meanwhile, grate the sweet potatoes and the tomatoes. The sweet potatoes should be finely grated, and the tomatoes shredded on the side with larger holes.
Add the spinach, olive oil, spices, paste, salt, and pepper to the grated vegetables and mix well.
Remove the ovenproof vessel from the oven and add the vegetable mixture.
Spread the mixture throughout its surface and return the ovenproof vessel to the oven, baking for about 15 more minutes.
Boil water in a medium-sized pot.
When the water is boiling, add the fresh vegetable fusilli by Mama Irene Pasta and boil for just 3 minutes, timed from the moment the boiling restarts.
3 minutes later, remove from the heat and strain.
Add the contents of the cans and the grated cheeses to a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
Then, after the 15 minutes of baking have passed, remove the ovenproof vessel, and mash the vegetables with a fork or an immersion blender.
Add the vegetable fusilli and mix well with the mashed vegetables.
Finally, add the coconut cream and cheese mixture and spread with a spatula to cover the whole surface. You can add more cheese if you want.
Return the ovenproof vessel to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the cream turns a golden brown.
Enjoy hot. You can add chopped parsley if you want.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Add a little olive oil to an ovenproof vessel along with the chopped onions and put them in the oven for 8–10 minutes.
Meanwhile, grate the sweet potatoes and the tomatoes. The sweet potatoes should be finely grated, and the tomatoes shredded on the side with larger holes.
Add the spinach, olive oil, spices, paste, salt, and pepper to the grated vegetables and mix well.
Remove the ovenproof vessel from the oven and add the vegetable mixture.
Spread the mixture throughout its surface and return the ovenproof vessel to the oven, baking for about 15 more minutes.
Boil water in a medium-sized pot.
When the water is boiling, add the fresh vegetable fusilli by Mama Irene Pasta and boil for just 3 minutes, timed from the moment the boiling restarts.
3 minutes later, remove from the heat and strain.
Add the contents of the cans and the grated cheeses to a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
Then, after the 15 minutes of baking have passed, remove the ovenproof vessel, and mash the vegetables with a fork or an immersion blender.
Add the vegetable fusilli and mix well with the mashed vegetables.
Finally, add the coconut cream and cheese mixture and spread with a spatula to cover the whole surface. You can add more cheese if you want.
Return the ovenproof vessel to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the cream turns a golden brown.
Enjoy hot. You can add chopped parsley if you want.
Αυτό το περιεχόμενο χορηγείται με άδεια Creative Commons Αναφορά Δημιουργού-Μη Εμπορική Χρήση-Όχι Παράγωγα Έργα 4.0 Διεθνές .
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