Roasted Vegetables with Whole Wheat Macaroni

Tomatoes quickly roasted at high temperatures develop a concentrated flavor and lovely saucy texture in just about 25 minutes.

Assorted roasted veggies prio to being tossed with pasta.

Any strongly flavored, salty cheese is the perfect garnish to this vegetarian entree.

Another fully customizable entree, our Roasted Veggies and Macaroni can incorporate just about any vegetable (and some fruits!), be adapted to all types of pasta and seasoned according to your caprices. 

Start by roasting the vegetables. You'll need two baking sheets - one for assorted veggies and one for the tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. while you clean, chop, peel etc about 1 1/2 lbs. of selected vegetables. Those that take longer to cook should be cut into smaller pieces than quick-cooking veggies like bell peppers or zucchini. On this particular evening Cafe Drake HRV combed through our produce drawers and came up with zucchini, yellow squash, a green bell pepper, a few hot chili peppers, a sweet potato and a couple of carrots. Toss veggies to coat with olive oil and salt. If using dried herbs or spices to season, do so now. Place vegetables in a single layer on a large baking sheet.

Prepare your second baking sheet by adding to it 4-5 plum tomatoes (cut in to halves lengthwise), 1 large onion, cut into large pieces and a few whole cloves of garlic. Again, toss well with salt and olive oil and a pinch of sugar.

Place both baking sheets in the oven and roast for about 25-35 minutes. Stir the vegetables at least twice during cooking and the tomatoes once. The tomatoes will cook faster than most other veggies so take them out a few minutes before the larger baking sheet if needed. You'll want the tomatoes cooked to the texture of a rough, chunky sauce.

Meanwhile you should be cooking 1 box of whole wheat macaroni noodles in plenty of salted boiling water. Cook only 7 or 8 minutes or until just al dente. Drain but do not rinse. Return macaroni to cooking pot and add the roasted veggies and tomatoes along with 3-4 T. of good olive oil. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if you like. Toss pasta again, this time with a lavish amount of ground black pepper. If you're using fresh herbs, add them now before one final toss.

Serve hot with grated Parmesan or slices of any other strong, salty cheese, such as Gruyere, Comte, aged Provolone, aged dry Jack or Gouda etc.