Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

Roasted Vegetable Pasta This is a tried and true favorite. You can add whatever vegetables you prefer.

Ingredients

• 3 large leeks, white parts only, split in half lengthwise and cut to bites sized pieces
• 1 medium red onion, whacked into eighths
• 1 red bell pepper (sometimes use 2) cut into wide strips
• olive oil
• 2 fresh sprigs of thyme
• Vegetable stock or water
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (360ml) tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup (120ml) chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup (60ml) white wine
• 1 tablespoon (or less) of salt
• 3/4 pound (330g)dried penne pasta (doesn't have to be penne)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) grated Parmesan cheese
• optional: 3 ounces (85g) mozzarella or goat cheese

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. (220c)
2. Put leeks, onion, and red bell pepper in a shallow roasting pan, tossing them with a tablespoon of olive oil to coat them. Add thyme and roast until they are cooked and start to brown (about 30-45 minutes). Hint: check early to make sure they're not burning, and add a little water or vegetable stock if the juices are evaporating.
3. While vegetables are roasting, sauté the garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until it begins to colour. Add the tomato sauce and simmer 1 minute. Then turn off heat and add the basil. Stir the roasted vegetables into the sauce. Gorgeous!
4. Turn oven down to 375 F (190c). Add wine to roasting pan and stir, scraping up bits of vegetables that are stuck to pan, and add these deglazed juices to the sauce.
5. Boil large pot of water and add the salt and pasta - undercook the pasta - should take only 6-8 minutes.
6. Drain pasta, add it to the sauce and vegetables. Add the cheese and mix it all. Grease a 2 to 2 1/2 quart casserole dish and pour it all in. Top with the optional mozzarella or goat cheese if you like, then bake it all for another 15 minutes in the 375 F (190c) oven.