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Roasted Vegetable Penne

Flavorful oven roasted vegetables tossed with penne pasta. Eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, onions and mushrooms marinated and roasted until tender add lots of flavor to this dish. Can also be made by grilling vegetables instead of roasting them. Can be served as a main dish or a flavorful side dish.

Course Main Course, Vegetable
Cuisine American, Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Recipe Thief

Ingredients

Vegetables:

  • 1 medium eggplant , sliced
  • 2 zucchini , sliced
  • 1 large onion , sliced or cut into wedges
  • 2 sweet peppers , seeded and cut into quarters
  • 2 cloves garlic , finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • ¾ cup roasted tomato vinaigrette (see below)
  • 2 cups penne noodles , cooked
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 4 oz parmesan cheese , grated
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette:

  • 1 plum tomato
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • Pinch cayenne
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Vegetables:

  1. Salt the eggplant first, slice the eggplant and place in a large storage bag. Sprinkle with salt and close the bag and place in the refrigerator overnight or for a few hours. Pour the salted eggplant in a strainer and rinse well with cold water. Let the eggplant drain while cutting other vegetables. Salting the eggplant first softens it and prevents it from being bitter.
  2. Toss vegetables with garlic and 3 tbsp of oil and a little salt and pepper.
  3. Arrange vegetables on a preheated barbecue and grill for 5-10 minutes per side until tender and lightly browned. You can roast the plum tomato for the vinaigrette in this step.

  4. Cut the vegetables into small pieces and toss with penne, 1 cup chicken broth and Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette. Season to taste and scatter cheese and parsley on top.

Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette:

  1. Cut tomato in half and rub with olive oil, salt and pepper. Set on the grill over low heat for about 10-12 minutes, turning once.
  2. Peel blackened skin off tomato and squeeze out seeds. You should have about 1 tbsp of pulp.
  3. Add cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper to the pulp and pound into a paste. Whisk in vinegar and olive oil.

Recipe Notes

I cut all of the vegetables into bite size pieces first, before roasting in the oven. I substitute tomatoes for the red peppers. Depending on the size of tomatoes you use, you would need 4-5 plum or 2 large tomatoes. I also use a red onion instead of a yellow or white onion. I assemble the vinaigrette minus the tomato, since I use tomatoes instead of red peppers for roasting. I also use Italian seasoning instead of cumin. I whisk the vinaigrette and pour over cut vegetables prior to roasting, marinating for several hours in the refrigerator if possible. I also add sliced and chopped mushrooms, but don’t add early when marinating vegetables prior to cooking, they’ll get too soggy. If you are going to marinate the vegetables (which I highly recommend), stir in the mushrooms just before roasting. I follow the recipe hint to roast vegetables in the oven at 475 F for 30-40 minutes, turning a few times (about every 10 minutes), until lightly browned and just tender.  I also used grated Parmesan to finish instead of feta cheese.