I know it's Fall, and I'm more than excited about boots, scarves, that chill in the air, and more than anything, fall baking.  However, today I decided to make a few tweaks to my typical "Summer Pasta" recipe.

Summer Pasta in a nutshell: I chop a bunch of summer vegetables, toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at around 400 degrees F until they're soft.  Then I toss it with pasta and a little bit of the pasta cooking water.

Roasted Garlic and Veggie Pasta

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 large onion
• 1 med. zucchini
• 1 broccoli crown 
• 10-12 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• pasta of choice (I used radiatore)
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut peppers and onions into approx. 1/2 inch squares.  Cut the zucchini into 1/4 inch rounds and then in half.  Gently smash the garlic with the flat side - enough to crack it, but leave the paper on.

Toss the peppers, onion and zucchini in a bowl with about 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 - 1 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.  Pour out onto a cookie sheet (with a rim) and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until veggies are all soft.

Meanwhile, cook noodles to al dente according to package directions and steam the broccoli until crisp tender.  Drain noodles, reserving 1/4 c pasta water.

Remove veggies from the oven and pour into a large pasta bowl.  Pull out garlic and remove from paper.  Mash and mix back into the veggies.  Stir in the steamed broccoli and noodles.  Add a little pasta water at a time until it all comes together.  (Add red pepper flakes if desired.)


PS - I had this with brown rice instead of pasta and it was great!