Zucchini, Pasta & Garlic

Ingredients:

• 200g (dry) pasta, eg penne or spirals
• 1-2 tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, finely diced or grated
• 3-4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
• 1-2 fresh tomatoes OR equivalent volume sun-dried tomatoes, diced (optional)
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced thin
• 10-15 kalamata olives, quartered or finely chopped (or whole if you're feeling lazy)
• 3-4 tbs tomato paste (if not using fresh or sun-dried tomatoes)

Method:

1. Boil water for pasta.
2. Gently heat small amount of oil in a wok or deep-sided frying pan.
3. Add onion, carrot, celery. Fry on low-medium heat.
4. Put boiling water in saucepan, add dry pasta. Boil vigorously, stirring occasionally. (Pasta should take 10-13 minutes to cook, just right for frying the veges.)
5. Add garlic. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully & stir — don't allow veges to burn.
6. Add tomatoes (optional), zucchini, olives. Keep stirring.
7. In last couple of minutes, add fresh or dried Italian herbs (eg basil, parsely, oregano) and tomato paste. Stir in well. Turn down heat.
8. When pasta is ready, drain in colander, then add to wok with veges. Turn off heat and stir in well.
9. Serve with pepper if desired.

This amount serves 2-3 adults (so put in extra if you need to feed more).