Vegetarian Arrabiata with Fetta Cheese & Pine Nuts

Heat a medium frying pan over a medium-low heat. Toast the pine nuts, stirring, for 1 minute or until toasted. Keep your eye on them so they don’t burn. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in the same medium frying pan over a medium heat. Add the red onion and red capsicum. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes and then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables sweat and soften. Remove the lid and add the garlic and birdseye chilli (leave out the seeds if you don’t like too much heat) and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add the diced tomatoes and water. Bring to the boil. Immediately reduce to a medium-low heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the vegetables have softened. Stir through the pine nuts and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the penne and cook for 10 minutes or until ‘al dente’, stirring regularly to ensure that the pasta does not stick. Drain and throw in the frying pan with the vegetable sauce and toss to coat well.