Aunt Emma’s Roasted Vegetables with Pasta
Who is Aunt Emma
Emma is Ricky’s aunt, and her recipe for roasted vegetables is the inspiration for Emma’s vegetables with pasta. If you haven’t been led to this recipe from our AUNT EMMA’S ROASTED VEGETABLES post, I will give you some background buzz on her. She is part of the over 90 gang, and still driving herself to exercise classes!
Aunt Emma’s roasted vegetables are known and loved by generations of her family. And she is too♥.
A tweak to the original
Now, back to roasted vegetables. Specifically, Aunt Emma’s. Her vegetable side dish is a unique mix of peppers, tomatoes, onion and potato, roasted in a homemade balsamic vinegar dressing. It is clear to me why Emma’s recipe has been so popular with her family members for all these years. It is scrumptious.
I am a big fan of the original roasted vegetable recipe and love the flavor combination so much that I asked Ricky what he thought about tweaking the recipe so it could be used over pasta. I liked the idea of having this delicious homemade balsamic sauce in a pasta dish. Except for the potato, the other vegetables are commonly paired with pasta.
Ricky swapped out the potatoes in the original side dish recipe, for summer squash. It came out fantastic! And the summer squash lightens the vegetable mix up enough so it is a perfect pasta dish for all seasons.
And just like that a new recipe was born: Emma’s roasted vegetables with pasta! This recipe is a great example of taking a flavor profile you enjoy and trying something new with it. Ricky made one change and an already scrumptious vegetable side dish became a fantastic meatless meal. Aunt Emma’s basic recipe has hit it out of the ballpark again. Just goes to show, you can’t rein a good recipe in.
Emma’s roasted vegetables with pasta is meatless!
This recipe is a very hearty meatless meal. The winning combination of vegetables, roasted in a homemade balsamic sauce, spooned over pasta will satisfy the heartiest of appetites.
We found that serving the roasted vegetables over a cheese filled pasta was the perfect choice. It added some bulk to the meal and some protein too. Of course, you can use any pasta you like, but we would recommend a sturdy pasta like ziti, rotini or rigatoni. A small pasta is going to get lost in the vegetables.
If you have guests coming for dinner that prefer meatless meals, consider wowing the crowd with this roasted vegetables with pasta recipe. Imagine how impressed they will be to see this colorful all vegetable meal on a serving platter with some cheese filled ravioli, stuffed shells or manicotti. They will be remembering it it for a long time to come. It’s unique and full of flavor. Even meat lovers will love it! Your guests don’t need to know how easy it is unless they insist on getting the recipe. You can’t go wrong with this one.
And it’s beautiful!
They say we eat with our eyes. Well this recipe is a real feast for the eyes. Check out our pictures and see for yourself. And the best part, it is as delicious as it looks.
It‘s so easy
Chop and Roast. That’s all there is to it. After less than 10 minutes of preparation the oven takes over and finishes the meal for you.
Here’s what YOU WILL NEED:
| 2 small yellow summer squash |
| 1 medium sized yellow onion |
| 1 green pepper |
| 1 orange pepper or any color you are able to get, the orange is all for show, but you do need a second pepper regardless of the color |
| 3 fresh plum tomatoes |
| ¼ cup olive oil |
| 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar you can substitute with white vinegar |
| 2 teaspoons dried basil |
| 2 teaspoons dried oregano |
| 1 teaspoon salt |
| 1/2 teaspoon pepper |
| 1 pound of a sturdy pasta |
If you want some tips on how to cook cheese filled pasta, check out our post Cooking Cheese Filled Pasta.
About the ingredients
As it says on the ingredient list, any color sweet pepper works in this recipe. You need 2 peppers, but they can be any color. A variation of color gives this dish a little extra pizzazz. I just figure, why not? Brightly colored sweet peppers always look so pretty on the shelves in the produce department. This recipe is a good way to show some of those colors off.
We usually make the dressing for the vegetables with balsamic vinegar, but white vinegar is most definitely another option. Ricky told me that his aunt usually uses white vinegar. I have made it with white vinegar and it is not surprising to me that the flavor of the vegetables are “brighter”. It sparks the true flavors of each of the vegetables, where the balsamic lends a rich, sweet flavor of it’s own to the vegetables. It’s all up to you. Maybe you have another vinegar you really like. By all means, give it a try. As long as you like the flavor, you can’t lose.
If you are one of the many people that prefer zucchini to summer squash go right ahead and use that instead. Zucchini works great in this recipe.
We are suggesting you try fresh or frozen cheese filled pasta for this recipe, but another pasta of your choosing is fine also. It would be a good idea to stay with a sturdy pasta though, like rigatoni, ziti or rotini. A small or thin pasta will get lost in the vegetables.
This is WHAT TO DO:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash and chop
Wash all your vegetables before you chop. If you need convincing about taking the time to wash them, take a peek at our humorous take on why you should What to Wash before you Eat.
Chop all the vegetables into bite sized pieces.
What a gorgeous display of color. Yellow summer squash, orange pepper, green pepper, plum tomatoes and onion. After washing and chopping the vegetables, your work is just about done.
What to roast in
Put the chopped vegetables in a large heavy bottomed oven safe skillet or a large shallow wide baking dish. If you cook the vegetables in a smaller, high sided baking dish, with layers of vegetables piled up in the dish, they will steam/boil in the dressing, not roast. It is not at all the same flavor or texture.
The vegetables should only be one or two layers deep on the bottom of the cooking vessel. You are dry roasting them, even though you are adding an olive oil dressing.
Make the dressing
In a small bowl, or measuring cup, mix up a dressing of balsamic vinegar (or white vinegar), olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
Emma’s roasted vegetable dressing starts with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Then add dried basil, dried oregano, salt and pepper and mix.
Add dressing to vegetables
Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss until all the vegetables are covered.
The chopped vegetables have been tossed in the dressing. The colors just keep showing off in this recipe. I love the stark backdrop of the black skillet. It makes the colors pop all the more.
Roast
Put the vegetables in the preheated 400 degree oven. Roast for one hour. If you have used a large vessel and the vegetables have been roasted in one layer with space to spare, check in 45 minutes. When the vegetables are tender, take the skillet/baking dish out of the oven.
If you are using a skillet be very careful not to grab the handle. You probably won’t be inclined to grab a baking dish without protecting your hands, but it is natural to grab a skillet by the handle. The handle on the skillet is not generally hot when you are using it. So, you need to think again before touching the handle. The skillet has been in a 400 degree oven. It is hot! Protect your hands before grabbing the handle.
Let the vegetables sit for a few minutes after they are out of the oven, so they can soak up some of the rich balsamic sauce at the bottom of the pan. Then use a slotted spoon to scoop the vegetables out, leaving the sauce on the bottom. If you stir the vegetables and sauce together before spooning it out, the dark balsamic sauce on the bottom will coat the vegetables, yielding a little less sauce for your pasta and it mutes the bright colors. It tastes just as good though.
The roasted vegetables have come out of the oven, still bright and beautiful. The herbs, oil, balsamic and the juices that have rendered from the vegetables are laying at the bottom of the skillet waiting to be spooned over your pasta.
Cook the pasta
Cook your pasta according to package directions. Fresh or frozen cheese filled pasta such as ravioli is perfect for this dish. Fresh and frozen pasta cooks quickly, but it doesn’t do well sitting out after it is cooked. It is best to wait to cook the pasta until the vegetables are fully cooked or just about done.
Cheese filled pastas, like ravioli, are pretty delicate. It’s common to have them break apart during cooking. We have a post to give you some tips on helping to prevent that from happening. Cooking Cheese Filled Pasta
In CLAUDIA’S COOKING TIPS we have a post with some tips on cooking cheese filled pasta in a way that keeps the pasta from breaking open and leaking all your cheese into the pasta water. Check it out at Cooking Cheese Filled Pasta.
In this picture we are using round cheese filled ravioli which were purchased frozen.
Serve
Spoon the vegetables over or beside the pasta, spoon the excess juices at the bottom of the skillet or baking dish over the pasta and serve.
This dinner recipe is rich and filling, AND it is MEATLESS!
Emma’s Vegetables with Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 yellow summer squash small
- 1 green pepper
- 1 orange pepper any color works, it's all for show
- 3 plum tomatoes fresh
- 1 onion medium yellow onion
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound cheese filled pasta frozen or fresh
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- Chop the summer squash, green and orange peppers, onion and plum tomatoes into bite sized pieces.
- Mix up the dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, basil, salt and pepper
- Put the chopped vegetables in a large skillet or wide bottomed, shallow baking dish so they are only one or two layers deep. Pour the dressing on and mix it up so that all the vegetables have been coated.
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Put the skillet/baking dish with the vegetables and dressing into the preheated oven to roast for an hour. If you have used a very large cooking vessel so the vegetables have been spaced apart, check them after 45 minutes. It's done when the vegetables are tender. When out of the oven, let it rest for at least 5 minutes to let the vegetables soak up the juices on the bottom.
- Cook the cheese pasta as directed on the label.. When cooked and drained, spoon the vegetable mixture over the top and serve immediately.