Try this roasted red pepper pasta sauce with The Batch Lady’s recipe

VEGETARIAN dishes were once dismissed as dull and boring – but times have changed.

Here is my meat-free recipe your family will want to enjoy again and again.

It's packed full of flavour and goodness.

And it's great to batch-cook, too, so you can have an easy meal to grab from the freezer when you need something quick.

My top tip this week is to defrost your freezer two or three times a year.

This should ensure your freezer is working as efficiently as possible.

All freezers defrost differently, so check the manual that came with your to check how best to go about it.

Roasted red pepper pasta sauce (Serves 4)

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

YOU NEED:

• 2 red peppers
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic puree
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp cream cheese

METHOD: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4. Cut the peppers in half and take out the seeds.

Place the red pepper halves on a baking tray and drizzle with oil and dried oregano.

Place in the oven for 20 minutes to soften and roast.

While the peppers are cooking, add a splash of oil to a saucepan and add the garlic puree.

Sizzle for 2 minutes and then add the tins of chopped tomatoes and tomato puree.

Leave to cook until the peppers are roasted.

Remove the peppers from the oven and add to the tomato sauce.

Season well then stir in the cream cheese.

Remove from the heat and, using a hand blender, blitz the sauce until smooth. Set aside and leave to cool.

Ready to freeze: Once the sauce has cooled, pour into a large reusable freezer bag and freeze flat.

Ready to eat: Remove the sauce from the freezer and leave to defrost.

Once defrosted, pour into a saucepan and reheat while you cook 350g pasta.

Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the sauce and serve.

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