Roasting vegetables makes them sweet and tender. It's a convenient, hands-free way to cook them too, with no recipe or technique required. Chop your veg, coat in olive oil, season, then toss in a hot oven.
Treat this recipe as a template for the roasted vegetable pasta of your dreams. Here we pair rigatoni and sundried tomato pesto, with crumbled feta cheese and basil as garnish. Use as little or as many vegetables as you like, with whatever pasta shape and sauce you fancy.
Ingredients
- ½ cup quartered zucchini
- ½ cup quartered eggplants
- ½ cup sliced brown mushrooms, about ½-inch thick
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup sliced asparagus, about 1-inch long
- ¼ cup sliced red onions, about ½-inch thick
- olive oil
- salt, to taste
- pepper to taste
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 500g dried rigatoni pasta
- 1-2 tbsp sundried tomato pesto sauce
- 100g feta cheese or grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- chopped basil, for garnish
Preheat oven to 390°F (198°C). Prepare a rimmed sheet pan.
Add zucchini, eggplants, and mushrooms to the pan. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast for 10 minutes.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Add cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and red onions. Roast for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil a pot of salted water over high heat. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, or until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
Grate the garlic cloves over the vegetables. Toss until the grated garlic is evenly distributed.
Add pesto sauce to the pasta while still warm, stirring to coat. Toss in the roasted vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Crumble feta cheese over the pasta. Garnish with chopped basil, if using, and serve.
Notes
Any pasta shape will work with this recipe.
Sundried tomato pesto can be substituted with basil pesto.
