Vegetarianism is a bit of a hot topic at the moment. Whether you are concerned about ethical treatment of animals, the environmental implications of the meat industry, or simply can't afford to keep buying it in these economically tumultuous times, there have never been more reasons to join the herbivores. Even if you can't bear to give up your hangover bacon buttie entirely, campaigns such as Meat Free Mondays urge us not to serve flesh with every meal.
There are a million meals that are better without meat than with them, so every week, we will be bringing you brilliant veggie recipes here on BitchBuzz, which are great for vegetarians and non-vegetarians looking to open their minds, alike.
Goat's Cheese may incite a yawn in vegetarians used to being confronted with it as their only option on restaurant menus, but this dish, which complements the cheese's sour flavour with sweet, sticky roasted vegetables such as squash, peppers and beetroot, is just too delicious to overlook because of a bit of food snobbery.
Serve with a fresh, crisp, green salad, for an easy, healthy and delicious dinner.
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 raw beetroot, peeled and cubed
1/2 a medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 red pepper, chopped into large chunks
1 yellow or orange pepper chopped into large chunks
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
2 bay leaves
150g of Goat's Cheese, chopped into small chunks
200g (dry weight) of penne pasta
generous drizzle amount of olive oil
salt/pepper
Directions
Toss all the chopped up veg, bay leaves and garlic into a large roasting tin so that they are quite well spread out. Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper (about a pinch of each) and toss veg to coat in oil.
Place in oven and roast at 200C/gas mark 5 for 45mins, or until veg is not only soft, but beginning to brown and crisp around the edges.
About 10mins before veg are due to be cooked, boil pasta according to packet instructions.
Drain pasta and remove veg from oven. Throw cooked pasta into veg tin with the chunks of goat's cheese and toss together to combine well. The cheese should begin to melt and coat the pasta.
Remove bay leaves (if you can find them) and serve with green salad.
