Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
In keeping with my attempts at healthy this week, today is a really colorful Pasta Primavera. You could use pretty much any vegetable you like or have on hand, but I’ve used asparegus, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. By roasting the veggies rather than steaming and liberal use of spices, they have more flavor so you can pass up my favorite, creamy Alfredo, and go with a much lighter roasted garlic and olive oil. Everything but the pasta is roasted in one pan so it’s pretty much a two step meal – roast the vegetables and cook the pasta. Then just mix!
Pasta Primavera
| 1 cup carrots sliced on the bias very thin
1 bunch fresh asparagus spears sliced on the bias in about 1″ pieces 1 cup broccoli florets 1/2 yellow bell pepper seeded and cut into long, thin strips 1/2 green bell pepper seeded and cut into long, thin strips 1/2 red bell pepper seeded and cut into long, thin strips 2 cups cherry tomatoes 1 garlic head (more if you want extra roasted garlic to use later) |
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp dried Herbs de Province or your favorite mixture such as oregano, basil, thyme etc. 1 teaspoon salt freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated 1 lb pasta – spaghetti, linguine or farfalle work well but you can use your favorite |
Procedure
| 1 Slice the vegetables and place in a large roasting pan. You can vary the vegetables, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, whatever you have that is fresh will work. | |
| 2 Drizzle generously with olive oil, add spices, salt and pepper and mix until well coated, spreading in an even layer. Carrots will cook slower than most other vegetables, so make sure and cut them thin. | |
3 Cut the top off the heads of garlic (I usually do 4 so I have extra) and remove any loose paper, add to the roasting pan cut side up and drizzle with olive oil.
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| 4 Roast in the oven until desired doneness – about 20 minutes, stirring after 10. The vegetables should still be crisp. | |
| 5 While the vegetables are roasting, put the water on for the pasta and cook according to the package directions. | |
| 6 When the vegetables are roasted, take the garlic heads out, remove the garlic from 1 head and flatten with the back of a large knife to form a paste. Add the garlic paste, butter, pasta and Parmesan to the vegetables in the roasting pan and mix thoroughly. Save the rest of the roasted garlic for later use or serve mixed with a little salt and pepper as a spread for bread. Roasted garlic is great added to soups, stews, potatoes or for making garlic bread but you can use just one head if you don’t want any left. | |
| 7 Serve with additional Parmesan for sprinkling on top. | |
Servings: 8
