Need a simple way to jazz up ordinary pasta? Roast your vegetables first. Even better? Roast them with parmesan cheese sprinkled over top. As the vegetables soften, the cheese develops a subtle nutty note, and brings greater depth to the dish.
Which temp is best? That's totally up to you. This dish can be served warm, room temperature or as a chilled pasta salad.
Choose your veggies: I used broccoli for this dish, but other great choices would be asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, artichoke hearts, peas, corn, and carrots.
Easy cleanup: For easy cleanup, and to make sure you get every speck of the toasted parmesan cheese, roast the broccoli on a piece of parchment paper. After roasting, simply lift the paper and pour everything (broccoli and cheese) into the pasta.
Spiral Pasta with Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli
4 cups broccoli florets
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more if desired
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, divided, plus more if desired
1 pound spiral pasta (also called rotini)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the broccoli in a large bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Toss to coat. Transfer the broccoli to a large baking sheet in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cheese over top.
Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the broccoli just starts to turn golden brown.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. While still warm, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, thyme, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir to coat the pasta.
Fold in the broccoli with any toasted cheese from the baking sheet. Transfer the pasta to a serving dish and top the remaining parmesan cheese. If desired, drizzle with a little more olive oil before serving.
Serves 4
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