Fresh vegetables and whole grain pasta with savory tomato sauce makes a very colorful and delicious pasta dish. This is a simple pasta dinner. Serve with a side of salad and bread.

Recipe will serve 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
Pasta:

• 2 cups whole grain penne pasta (use can use another pasts shape if “penne” is not available)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Vegetables:

• 2 medium sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped green beans
• 1 medium chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 medium sliced zucchini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Tomato sauce:

• 6 medium diced tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomato
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon Italian herb
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sugar (adjust to taste)

Preparing Pasta:

• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (adjust to taste)

Method:

• In a large pot boil the water with salt and oil.
• After water comes to the boil add the pasta.
• Cook the pasta until it is just tender, not too soft. Drain the water and set pasta aside.

Vegetables:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
2. Add vegetables (carrot, green beans, bell pepper, mushrooms, and zucchini) to skillet and sauté until they are nearly tender.

Tomato Sauce:

1. Mix the cornstarch in ¼ cup of water and keep aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the basil, Italian herbs, and chili flakes stir and add tomatoes.
3. Let the tomatoes cook until they become pasty.
4. Next add cornstarch, salt and sugar to the tomato sauce, cornstarch will give thickness to the sauce.
5. Next add the sauté vegetables to the sauce and cook for few minutes on medium heat until sauce come to the desirable thickness.

Prepare The Pasta:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add basil and chili flakes stir for few seconds.
2. Next add the drained pasta and sauté for a minute until pasta is well coated with oil.
3. Pour the vegetable sauce over the pasta, serve hot with slice of French bread and salad.

Variations:
For this recipe you need about 5 cups of vegetable, replace the vegetables to your choice.

Serving suggestion:
Serve pasta with slice of toasted bread and green salad.

Notes:
I like to serve pasta with slice toasted and spiced French bread. Before toasting the bread spread the olive oil and sprinkle basil, chili flakes and salt.