Pasta Baskets With Vegetables

Ingredients

• 100 g dried vermicelli
• 1 dash olive oil
• vegetable oil (for deep frying)

For the filling

• 30 ml sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 100 g baby sweetcorn
• 100 g green beans, mangetout
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 45 ml soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. 1

   Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, and add the vermicelli with a dash of olive oil.

2. 2

   Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Drain and set aside.

3. 3

   Heat the oil for deep frying, and pack the cooked vermicelli into the bird’s nest, if using. Otherwise, fry the vermicelli in batches in a frying basket. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes in hot oil, until the vermicelli is crisp and golden.

4. 4

   Remove the basket from the bird’s nest and drain on paper towels. Repeat the process to make all the baskets. Arrange the baskets of loose vermicelli on individual serving plates.

5. 5

   To make the filling, heat the sesame oil in a frying pan and sauté the garlic for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the sweetcorn, mangetout and carrots, stir and cook for 3 – 5 minutes until tender. Stir in the soya sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then spoon into the vermicelli baskets or onto a bed of vermicelli to serve.