Meatless Monday - Pasta Primavera

This is the inaugural "Meatless Monday" recipe post....

please contain your excitement.   

I thought I'd try something pretty easy for my first outing, so I began scouring the internet for a Pasta Primavera recipe.  I ended up taking several, picking them apart and coming up with my own concoction. 

Here are the ingredients you'll need.

PASTA PRIMAVERA

1 12 oz. package of penne pasta

(I used whole wheat, but use whatever you like)

3 yellow squash

(I wanted to use a mix of squash and zucchini, but the store was out of zucchini)

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved

7 spears asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 bell pepper, julienned (yellow, red, orange...whatever you like)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp. Herbs de Provence (or more, to taste)

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning (or more, to taste)

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

(store was out of fresh and my plants are dead, so I used dried)

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 tbs. balsamic vinegar

salt

freshly ground pepper

1/2 tbs. lemon juice

2 tsp. lemon zest

1 tbs. butter

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano/Reggiano cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. In a bowl, toss squash (zucchini), bell pepper, tomatoes and asparagus with 2 tbs. olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, Herbs de Provence and Italian Seasoning. Arrange veggies on the baking sheet and roast 15 mins, stirring about 7 mins. through.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne pasta and cook according to package directions, drain.

4. Heat remaining olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Mix in cooked pasta, lemon zest, basil, parsley and balsamic vinegar. Gently toss and cook until heated through. Turn off heat (you may transfer to a serving bowl at this point) and add in roasted veggies and sprinkle with Parmesan/Reggiano cheese. Adjust your seasonings at this point. I added more Herbs de Provence, Italian Seasoning, salt, pepper and dried basil. You may also want to add a little more balsamic or olive oil, depending on your taste.

5. Serve immediately in individual bowls garnished with a sprinkling of P/R cheese.



Mmmm....veggies all seasoned up and ready to hit the oven.



and here's the finished product.  We really enjoyed this meal and it has been filed away in the "keeper" category.

It really was very simple.  You can add whatever veggies you have on hand, omit the ones you don't like....just wing it.  As I said above, I really wanted zucchini, but couldn't find any, so I just added more squash. 

Hope this inspires you to go meatless, even if it's just for one meal.