Mushroom ragu pasta bake

400 g mix of Swiss Brown, cups, portobellos and or flat mushrooms, finely diced

150 g small Swiss Brown mushrooms, sliced in half

1 brown onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ carrot, finely diced

½ red capsicum, diced

3 tbsp tomato paste

400 g can diced tomatoes

½ cup good quality vegetable stock

2 tsp dried oregano

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tsp chilli flakes, optional

Sea salt

Fresh cracked pepper

500 g large shell pasta, pre-cooked to the packet’s instructions

⅓ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

Olive oil for cooking

To serve:

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

Extra parmesan cheese

In a heavy base large dish or large frypan (cast iron is ideal) on medium-high heat add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the diced and halved mushrooms until they soften. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add another drizzle of olive oil to the same pan, add the diced onion and garlic. Once they become translucent, add in the carrot and capsicum, sauté for a further 5 minutes or until they soften.

Add the tomato paste and stir through for a few minutes, follow by adding the sautéed mushrooms back in, along with the can of diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, oregano, thyme, chilli flakes and a good pinch of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Stir though and allow to come up to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer covered with a lid slightly ajar for 20 minutes so the flavours develop, and the sauce thickens. If the sauce becomes too thick add in a splash of water or extra stock.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

While the ragu is cooking, cook the shell pasta as per the packet instructions to al dente and drain.

Add the drained cooked shell pasta to a large deep ovenproof baking dish, spoon over the ragu and gently stir through.

Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top and bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes or until the cheese is lightly golden.

Serve with extra parmesan cheese and parsley sprinkled over the top.

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