Agile in the kitchen

Quick vegetable pasta with cottage cheese

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It is nearly dinner time and you want to put together something quick and easy. Why not try this quick vegetable pasta with cottage cheese.

In this versatile dish, you can use the vegetables you have at hand, together with any left over pasta shape. Even that frozen bag of mixed vegetables that is lurking in the back of your freezer can come in to good use in this recipe.

To add protein to your dish, add cottage cheese. For additional flavour, mix it with the paprika powder before adding it into the pot with pasta and vegetables.

On a wooden table, with a beige table cloth and a green napkin, a blue plate with vegetable and cottage cheese pasta.
Vegetable and cottage cheese pasta

How to make quick vegetable pasta with cottage cheese

Cut the vegetables in to bite-size pieces, in fairly similar sizes. I am not too bothered about making even sizes. It’s a quick dish after all. Bring the pasta water to a boil and add the pasta shapes. Sometimes when I cook this dish, I use all different bits and ends of left over pasta. It is not always great to cook pasta this way, as different shapes of pasta take different time to cook, but most of the time it turns out ok. This is after all a middle of the week quick pasta dish, not a dish that I would invite any prominent guests to eat.

Ingredients lined up on a background of green and beige table cloth, from the left, a bowl of uncooked pasta, bowl of cottage cheese, head of broccoli, red onion, a wooden teaspoon with paprika powder, baby corn on a blue plate and two cloves of garlic.
Ingredients laid out

Once the pasta water is boiling, I will use the same pot to steam any of the vegetables that needs to soften a bit before adding them in to the pan to fry. To save energy, I use a pot where I can fit a steaming basket on top to cook the pasta in the water while the vegetables steam. It was a hand-me-down from one of my flat mates a long time ago but it is one of the best pots I have for when I want to cook and steam at the same time.

While the pasta cooks, I take out my largest sauteuse and add the vegetables to it one at the time depending on how long they need to be cooked for. Layering the dish with the vegetables and cooked pasta.

The photo taken from above, in a sauteuse diced red onions, cut stalk of broccoli, paprika powder, salt and white pepper frying in oil.
Frying onions and broccoli stalk

Lastly I mix the cottage cheese with the sweet paprika powder and add it into dish and give it a whirl. Dinner done in about as long time it takes to cook the pasta.

A pasta dish with broccoli, mini corn and cottage cheese cooking on the stove
Vegetable cottage cheese pasta in the pot
On a wooden table, with a beige table cloth and a green napkin, a blue plate with vegetable and cottage cheese pasta.
Print Recipe

Quick vegetable pasta with cottage cheese

It is nearly dinner time and you want to put together something quick and easy. Try this vegetables pasta with cottage cheese dish. Quick, easy and delicious.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Basics
Keyword: pasta, vegetables, vegetarian
Servings: 4 portions

Ingredients

  • 200 g pasta
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 350 g broccoli
  • 125 g baby corn
  • 250 g carrots
  • 100 ml pasta water
  • 300 g cottage cheese
  • 1 lemon zest only

Instructions

  • Cook pasta according to instructions on package.
  • Cut florets off broccoli.
  • Cut off the bottom off the stem and add to your compost. Slice the rest of the stem in to smaller pieces.
  • Cut carrots in to roundels.
  • Cut baby corn into smaller pieces.
  • Zest the lemon.
  • Dice onion and mince garlic.
  • Fry onion and garlic, add paprika, salt and pepper. Let cook through 3 minutes.
  • Add vegetables. Mix well and let everything fry on high heat for 5 minutes.
  • Add in the pasta water and let steam under lid until all water has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the cooked pasta, cottage cheese and lemon zest.
  • Do one last cook through, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Taste and add any more spices if needed.

Notes

If you prefer not to use the stem of the broccoli, save it to make vegetable stock and add more florets.
Use a wok to fry all vegetables, if you have on. Make it really hot and flash fry it on the wok.
When using only the zest of a lemon, juice the lemon and freeze in an ice cube tray to use for other recipes.

Variations

For other quick and easy dinner dishes, try my One pot creamy sun dried tomato pasta or my classic mac n’ cheese.

One response to “Quick vegetable pasta with cottage cheese”

  1. One pot creamy pasta with sun-dried tomato and spinach – Agile in the kitchen

    […] In the mood for something more simple? Try my Classic Mac n’ Cheese or my Super Creamy Mac n’ Cheese. Or this quick and easy Vegetable pasta with cottage cheese. […]