Pappardelle with Roasted Eggplant, Tomatoes, Zucchini and Kalamata Olives

or, A Perfect Canvas for Creativity 

Yesterday, Teresa and I texted back and forth about what we were going to cook.  As usual, I had decided on dessert, which You won’t want to miss.  I’ve never made anything like it before (always thought it was too difficult), and it was fabulous! It is so delicious and will work for a fancy or casual dinner, certainly a keeper. 

So I asked Teresa to decide what she wanted to cook for the main. About 15 minutes later, she texted me a photo she found of this dish in the March 2015 issue of Martha Stewart Living.  It was so beautiful I knew instantly that dish was going to be on the Sunday table.

 We made pretty liberal changes to the recipe.  First, Martha calls for a wide ring-shaped pasta called Calamarata, which we were unable to find, so we substituted Pappardelle.  She also includes sausage. We wanted to grill some steaks to go alongside the pasta with vegetables, so we omitted the sausage. We also added a zucchini, just for a little bit of green in the already beautifully colored dish. 

So after making and eating this dish, it occurred to me that the basics of this recipe are as follows:

1) cut up a bunch of seasonal vegetables 

2) season with salt, pepper and olive oil  

3) roast in the oven 

4) add your favorite pasta and some olives

5) drizzle some olive oil and add Parmesan cheese

That’s it!  It can change with the seasons. It can change with the olives used. It can change with the amount or shape of pasta you use.  You can add some meat. This is a versatile recipe that once you try a variation or two, will likely end up in the group of recipes you go back to again and again.  

Give this a try!  If you are anything like me, you are always looking for easy and healthy ways to incorporate pasta into your weekly meals.  And with a recipe this versatile, it will supply you a blank canvas on which you can create many new things!

Pappardelle with Roasted Vegetables and  Kalamata Olives

(Adapted from and inspired by Martha Stewart Living, March 2015, p 119)

Ingredients:

 

   

2 Japanese eggplants, halved and sliced 

1 large zucchini, halved and sliced

3 c cherry tomatoes

4 cloves garlic

4 T extra virgin olive oil, divided

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lb pappardelle pasta

1 c pitted Kalamata olives

1/2 c grated Parmesano Reggiano

Small fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425F. Place foil in 2 large sheet pans.

  

In a large bowl, mix vegetables and garlic with the olive oil. Spread vegetables across the 2 sheet pans. Sprinkle somewhat liberally with salt and pepper. Roast 25-30 minutes, until edges of veggies are brown and garlic smells wonderful.

  
In the meantime, boil water for the pasta. If the pasta is fresh, wait until veggies are out of the oven to cook the pasta.  Otherwise cook during the last few minutes of roasting time. 

When veggies are roasted, cool slightly. Pour veggies and olives into a serving bowl.  Add remaining 2 T olive oil. Top with the cooked pasta and Parmesano-Reggiano. Using tongs or pasta server, stir pasta and veggies until evenly distributed.  Garnish with fresh basil.

Serve and enjoy!