Italian-Style Pasta with Pepper, Tomato & Mild Harissa Sauce

Italian-Style Pasta with Pepper, Tomato & Mild Harissa Sauce — 25 mins family dinner · Vegetarian family dinners using aubergine, peppers, tomatoes, chickpea…

Italian-Style Pasta with Pepper, Tomato & Mild Harissa Sauce — finished dish

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Ingredients

  • 75g pasta
  • 1 pepper, diced
  • 100g tomatoes, chopped
  • ½ garlic clove, crushed
  • 30g plain yoghurt, optional
  • 3g fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 tsp olive or rapeseed oil

Method

  1. Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Cook younger-child pasta slightly softer if needed.
  2. Heat oil in a pan. Cook pepper for 5–6 minutes until starting to soften.
  3. Add garlic and tomatoes. Simmer for 10–12 minutes until peppers are very soft and sauce has thickened.
  4. Remove baby and toddler portions of soft pepper-tomato sauce and pasta before adding harissa, salt or adult seasoning.
  5. Stir harissa into the adult and older-child sauce if using.
  6. Toss pasta with the sauce, loosening with pasta water if needed.
  7. Stir yoghurt through if using for a milder finish.
  8. Serve with basil for adults and older children.

Storage and reheating

Cool roasted aubergine, pasta sauce and roasted sweet potato within 2 hours. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 48 hours. Reheat cooked aubergine, pasta and sweet potato until steaming hot throughout and only reheat once. Save plain roasted aubergine for Dinner 3 before adding pomegranate molasses, honey, peanuts or adult seasoning. Taco salad is best assembled fresh. For babies and toddlers, keep portions separate before adding salt, chilli, harissa, whole nuts, tortilla chips, feta or adult toppings.

Safety and substitutions

Pepper skin can be difficult for babies, so cook until very soft and mash well. Harissa is spicy and salty, so add only after baby portions are removed. Pasta should be cut short for toddlers and babies. Cool leftovers within 2 hours and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.

Why this recipe works

25 mins family dinner · Vegetarian family dinners using aubergine, peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas, sweet potato and yoghurt. set · Vegetarian protein. Part of a three-meal shopping base with household scaling.

Part of a three-meal set

Aubergine Feature Set — Pomegranate-roasted aubergine, tomato-harissa pasta, and a Mexican taco salad using leftover aubergine.

Updated 2026-07-20

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