Roasted Summer Vegetable Pasta Dish with Mojo Sauce
This recipe was inspired by a visit to La Palma. It was on this beautiful Canary Island that I discovered mojo sauce. It’s a delicious, flavour-packed sauce, which you can use in myriad ways. I love drizzling it on pasta, rice and couscous dishes and stirring it through beans and veggies for burrito-style wraps. I also use it as a dressing for salads, dip for bread and topping for jacket potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2 red medium onions sliced into chunks
- 1 large courgette (zucchini) (about 325g) sliced into bite-size chunks
- 2 sweet romano or bell peppers deseeded and sliced
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- pinch of salt
- 6 vegan-friendly sausages I used Linda McCartney Chorizo & Red Pepper sausages which are vegan & gluten free
- 350 g / 12.5 oz penne pasta (Use GF pasta, if needed)
Mojo sauce
- 400 g / 14 oz can chopped tomatoes with chilli*
- 2 tsp minced garlic (raw or pan-fried – see Note **)
- 1 sweet romano or red bell pepper chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ½-1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp unrefined sugar
- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 2 slices of bread broken into pieces [see Note *** for a GF option]
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C (180C fan) / 400F.
- Arrange the onions, courgette and pepper pieces in a large roasting tin. Drizzle in the olive oil and stir through to combine. Sprinkle on the oregano and a pinch of salt. Roast for about 16-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Stir half way through the cooking time.
- Cook the sausages as per the instructions on the packet (I pop them in the oven at the same time as the veggies). When cooked, slice into bite-size pieces.
- Prepare a large pan of salted boiling water and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, then return the pasta to the pan. Drizzle in a drop of olive oil and stir through to prevent the pasta sticking together.
- Prepare the mojo sauce: Add all the ingredients to a jug blender. Initially begin with ½ tsp cumin and sugar, and 1 slice of bread. Blend from low to high speed, until smooth. Taste test and add more cumin and sweetener, if desired. Pour the sauce into a pan and gently heat through before serving.
- Once the vegetables, sausages and pasta are cooked, combine them and transfer to warm pasta bowls. Drizzle the mojo sauce on top, and serve.
- Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to five days. Gently heat through before serving.
Notes
* If serving to children, use a can of plain chopped tomatoes or chopped tomatoes with basil.
** If, like me, you’re not a fan of raw garlic, pan-fry it in a splash of olive oil until it just starts to brown.
*** For a gluten-free mojo sauce, use 150g / ¾ cup butter beans to thicken the sauce instead of bread.
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