• 6oz (175g) wholewheat pasta shells
• 2oz (50g) roasted sesame seeds
• 6oz (175g) cottage or ricotta cheese
• 4oz (lOOg) bean sprouts
• Soy sauce
• Seasoning to tast

Method:

1. Grind the seeds to a powder; sieve or blend the cottage cheese to make a smooth puree; combine the seeds and cheese with the soy sauce and seasoning to taste; add a little hot water to make a pouring consistency.

2. Cook the pasta shells in boiling salted water until just tender; drain; mix with the bean sprouts.

3. Pour the sauce over the pasta and sprouts, stirring to make sure it is evenly distributed.

4. Serve at once; If you are using this recipe for catering return to the pan and heat through very gently for just a minute or two and serve.

This catering recipe is low on protein, but makes an ideal side dish with such foods as nut roast, soya meat cutlets or lentil fritters. When serving it as a side dish, you will probably only need half the quantities given here. This will cater for 8.

• 8oz (225g) wholewheat pasta shells
• 2 tablespoonsful vegetable oil 1 onion
• loz (25g) plain wholemeal flour
• 425 ml vegetable stock or water
• 1 tablespoonful cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoonsful thin honey
• 2 teaspoonsful soy sauce
• Pinch of dry mustard
• 8oz (225g) cubed pineapple
• Seasoning to taste 2oz (50g)
• chopped almonds Parsley to garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and gently saute the chopped onion for 5 minutes.

2. Add the flour and cook until beginning to brown; stir in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil, then simmer until the sauce thickens.

3. Add the cider vinegar, honey, soy sauce, crushed pineapple, mustard and seasoning, and cook gently for a few minutes more.

4. At this stage, you can add the pasta to the sauce, cover the pan, and cook gently for 15 minutes more until the pasta is tender (you may need to add more liquid to the sauce); or

Cook the pasta separately in the usual way and, when tender, drain and mix into the sauce.

5. Serve on individual plates sprinkled with nuts and parsley.