Red lentil and pepper ragu pasta bake

Ingredients

For the ragu

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 stick of celery, thinly sliced

 1 courgette, coarsely grated

1 carrot, coarsely grated

2 peppers, deseeded and finely chopped (we used 1 red and 1 orange)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

300g red lentils

2 tbsp tomato purée

2 × 400g tins Asda Chopped Tomatoes with Herbs

1 low salt vegetable stock cube

300g Asda Rigatoni pasta

20g vegetarian hard cheese, grated

For the white sauce

360ml semi-skimmed milk

30g unsalted butter

30g plain flour

100g mature cheddar, grated

Method

1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan.

Add the onion, celery, courgette, carrot and pepper, then season well and cook for 10-12 mins until softened and the moisture has evaporated.

Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.

2 Add the lentils and tomato purée then stir well until coated in the mix.

Pour in the tomatoes, then fill each can with water, swirl and add to the pan with the stock cube. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-25 mins until thickened and the lentils are tender.

3 Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to pack instructions and preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ gas 4. Drain the pasta, reserving half a mugful of the cooking water.

4 To make the white sauce, add all the ingredients to a saucepan, season with salt and pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins, stirring all the time until everything has combined, thickened and the cheese has melted.

5 To assemble, stir the pasta water into the ragu then toss with the cooked pasta. Spoon into a deep 30x20cm dish then pour over the white sauce. Sprinkle with hard cheese then bake for 20-25 mins until golden. Allow to stand for 5 mins before serving.