I cannot predict which meals my family will love. I only made this so I could use up leftover things in the house. I had half a block of Feta cheese and some courgettes laying around so put this meal together. Apparently, my family loved this meal, so I suppose I should add it to my recipe blog.
- I sliced two green courgettes and diced an aubergine, drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned with salt and black pepper. I roasted them for around 15 mins until they started to go golden brown.
- I boiled water for penne in a big pan.
- In my lovely red ceramic casserole dish / cooking pot, I fried some sliced chicken in olive oil with hot chilli powder. Then I set these aside.
- In the same red pot, I put another glug of olive oil and fried an onion, with another sprinkle of chilli powder, until the onions got soft. Then I added a teaspoon of sugar, two cloves of garlic and I cooked these with the onion for a minute or two. I poured over enough red wine vinegar to moisten the mixture. The pan was hot so the vinegar boiled quickly. Then I added a tin of chopped tomatoes and water to the same volume as the can of tomatoes. I put the lid on, and let it all simmer together for about 15 minutes.
- When the pasta was ready I drained it but kept a little water aside.
- I then added the roasted vegetables and the chicken to the pot with the pasta sauce and I crumbled in about 150g of feta cheese. I put the lid back on the pan for 2-4 minutes.
- Then I added the pasta and the little pasta water that I had preserved to the sauce.
- I served it in warm bowls with fresh basil leaves, black pepper and grated parmesan.
My son ate two bowls of the pasta and mopped up the sauce with bread and butter. It's kind of amazing how much a teenage boy can eat and not gain weight! My husband and son really enjoyed it.
