Roasted Vegetable Pasta

My friend Sarah Jo is an amazing cook! The other day we were chatting back and forth and I mentioned to her than I was feeling totally uninspired about what to make for dinner. So, she suggested a couple recipes for me to try. And they were wonderful! Of course, me being me, I couldn't just make the recipe as it was written... I had to change it up because that's just what I do.

You should also check out Sarah Jo's blog. She writes great posts and has reviewed hundreds of recipes on AllRecipes.com. She's a stay at mom of 2 adorable boys (3 if you count the big boy also known as her husband) who does a great job of keeping meals delicious, healthy AND affordable. That's something we could all use in these lean economic times. Because is she is such an excellent cook who knows her stuff, you know you can trust her reviews and feel confident that if she says something is good (or not so good) that it will be. I hope you'll go take a look at her blog and maybe leave a comment telling her I sent you.

You can find her blog here: "Double Wide Skillet, Single Wide Budget"

On to the recipe! I love this dish because it's simple and healthy and chock full of vegetables. I served it with a delicious soup (I'll be posting it soon) but it was substantial enough to stand on it's own for a light vegetarian meal. Or, you could even do what I did with the leftovers and add some chopped grilled chicken breast in to make it more filling. Shrimp would be tasty too. It's great served hot, but I found I really liked it room temperature as well. I can totally see this dish made with a variety of different vegetables... I think it would be great for using whatever Spring or Summer produce is plentiful at the time. Like I always say, use your imagination and your family's tastes as your guide and don't be afraid to try something new!



Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package farfalle (bowtie) pasta
Olive oil
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 large red onion
1 pound portobello mushrooms
2 red bell peppers
1 large zucchini
1 pound asparagus
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
1: Preheat oven to 450* F

2: Wash and chop all vegetables so that they are all about the same size. I like the size to be about 3/4 of an inch. Having the vegetables the same size is VERY important because everything will roast together.

3: Place all your vegetables together in a large bowl and coat with olive oil and chopped garlic. You want the pieces covered well with oil, but not dripping!

4: Spread your vegetable mixture out on baking sheets so that everything is in a single layer. The veg can be touching, just not piled on top of each other. Two standard baking sheets were sufficient for mine.

5: Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. Check frequently. You're looking for your vegetables to be tender but not mushed and slightly browned. It might take as little as 15 minutes or as much as 25... checking is key.

6: While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the pasta according to package directions.

7: Toss the roasted vegetables with the pasta, including some of the olive oil from your baking sheets that is leftover from roasting... this makes up part of the dressing for the dish.

8: Add the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and toss gently again.

9: Serve immediately with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6

Kitchen Notes:
* I highly recommend covering your baking sheets with aluminum foil for ease in clean up.

* The recipe that my "Roasted Vegetable Pasta" is based on can be found here at AllRecipes.com