Its not always easy to get all the veggies that you need in your diet and this is the perfect recipe for it. Basically I take any vegetables that I have lying around in my fridge, toss them in a bit of olive oil, roast ’em and mix them with pasta in an easy vinaigrette. And of course you gotta had in some parmesan cheese…there always has to be some cheese 😉
You can use whatever vegetables you like but I used garlic, mushrooms, red peppers and red onions in this one. You can see marinated artichoke hearts in there, but they were a big mistake. Really overpowered everything else. I ended up picking them all out later. So just don’t do it!
What you’ll need:
8oz of dry medium sized Pasta, like Rigatoni or Large Shells
1 Eggplant
1/2 lb of mixed fresh Vegetables (Garlic, Mushrooms, Red Peppers, Red Onions, Carrots, Squash, Green Beans, Turnips, Snow Peas, Asparagus, Zucchini, Leeks, Fennel, Green Peppers, etc.)
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
4 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Chicken Broth
1 tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper
Preheat the oven to 500F. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
Chop eggplant into 1 inch cubes.
I forgot to include a picture of this, but you need to salt and drain the eggplant first to get rid of some of the water that its sponge-like flesh absorbs. It will also help get rid of some of the bitterness. Place cubes a colander and sprinkle with salt. Place a plate on top the eggplant and then put a heavy object like a can of tomatoes on top of the plate. This puts pressure on the eggplant and helps it drain. Leave the eggplant for one hour. Then rinse the eggplant in cold water and firmly squeeze it out.
Toss with remaining olive oil and arrange in a single layer and sprinkle with a little salt. Place both pans of vegetables in the oven for 10 minutes or until vegetables are brown and caramelized. Cook pasta according to the package.
In the meantime toss your Italian seasoning in a bowl. I didn’t have any so I just made my own with equal parts rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano and majoram.
Add in balsamic vinegar and chicken broth and whisk together.
When the vegetables are done, toss them into dressing.
Drain the pasta and add it to the vegetables.
Add the Parmesan cheese and give it a final toss. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper.
