Roasted Vegetable Pasta
This is the dinner we had for Good Friday, of course no meat! The mushrooms in the pasta add a heartiness that leaves you feeling full and satisfied. Roasting the vegetables adds a depth of flavour that is really unbelievable. This is a lot of food but if you feel you need to serve something with it, serve; surprise, a salad!
Serves 4
1 Pint grape tomatoes
150 g asparagus (half a standard bunch), cleaned and cut in thirds
227 g cremini (or white button) mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
Coarse salt
Pepper
1 375 g box of whole wheat pasta (I’ve used spaghetti and penne)
3 Cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 Cup white wine
1/2 Cup starchy pasta water (reserved)
– Preheat oven to 425
– Combine the asparagus, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a large roasting pan; add one tbsp of the olive oil and season with coarse salt and pepper, mix well. Roast the veggies for 30 minutes, shaking the pan at least twice to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom and burning.
– After the veggies have been roasting for about 10 minutes, bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the directions indicate. Be sure to reserve a ½ cup of the pasta water before you strain it.
– In a large frying pan, add the remaining 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic to the cold oil and then turn the heat to medium low; the idea is to slowly infuse the oil with the garlic flavour so if the garlic is browning too quickly then drop the heat to low.
– When the vegetables have finished roasting in the oven, add the white wine to the pan with the garlic; turn the heat to high and let the alcohol cook out; cook for about a minute.
– Add the ½ cup of starchy pasta water and also add the roasted vegetables to the pan (including the juices from the roasting pan); mix well. At this point, the pasta should be cooked and strained, add it to the pan and mix well (the heat should still be on high here).
– Let the pasta boil in the liquid for 2-3 minutes, until most of the liquid has absorbed. Taste the pasta to make sure it’s cooked to your liking; if it’s still too aldente for you then just drop the heat to low and let the pasta rest in the liquid for a few minutes.
– Taste and adjust seasoning.
– Feel free to top the pasta with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes:
- As with any roasted veggie meal, this is a method and not just a recipe. Feel free to use any veggies you like here.
- If you don’t have any wine on hand then add 1 cup of the pasta water instead of 1/2 cup.
- Again, as always, if you like a little heat you can add chilli flakes to the olive oil when you add the garlic, i.e., before the heat has been turned on.
- This may sound like a lot of work but I had this pasta on the table in under 45 minutes; this included waiting the 14 minutes for my oven to preheat!
- A variation to this recipe is to use 2 medium tomatoes chopped in large chunks instead of the pint of tomatoes.