Baked Penne With Roasted Vegetables,courtesy Giada De La

Submitted by JTsMom

"I watched Giada prepare this dish on her Food Network show, Everyday Italian. Episode: Vegetarian Italian It looked so easy and delicious, I prepared it for my family that same night. It was a big hit! NOTE: Giada prepared this dish for her Mother who dislikes garlic, so I added 10 split cloves of garlic to the vegetables before roasting."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
• 2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 cremini mushrooms, halved
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided, to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, divided, to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herb seasoning or 1 tablespoon herbes de provence, to taste
• 1 lb penne pasta
• 3 cups marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
• 1 cup grated Fontina cheese, to taste
• 1⁄2 cup grated smoked mozzarella cheese, to taste
• 1 1⁄2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• 1⁄4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus
• 1⁄3 cup grated parmesan cheese, for topping, to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces, to taste

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is still hard. Drain in a colander.
4. In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, cheeses, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and butter pieces. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.

Reviews

[CookKT]

This is a wonderful dish. It is easy to make and absolutely delicious! I added one extra zucchini, extra mushrooms, and some broccoli. I didn't have fontina cheese so I added some extra smoke mozzarella and parmesan to make up for it. I also used whole wheat penne. It turned out fantastic!

 

[Dr. Jenny]

This was an easy, basic comfort food dish. One drawback was that it did dirty a lot of dishes. This yields a lot of food, which is good if you are cooking for others.

 

[Erika S.]

One of our FAVORITES! I use whole wheat penne from Trader Joe's, Rao's marinara (a splurge but SO worth it, and often on sale at Sprouts) and regular marinara instead of smoked. Herbes d'Provence is wonderful if you have them, otherwise Italian herbs is fine. We are a small family so I make 2 at a time (two 8x8" pans, one goes into freezer). Love to add grilled chicken breast if I have it. A great dish for meal trains or families in need of a home-cooked meal. Thanks Giada - this one is a keeper.

 

[whtbxrmom]

We had zucchini, summer squash, onions, green and yellow bell peppers and white mushrooms in our CSA farm box this week. No peas, so we just left those out. I also had to use regular mozzarella, no smoked at the store. I think that seasoning and roasting the veggies in the oven first made all the difference. Everyone enjoyed this.

 

[Krista2487]

I love this dish! So yummy & pretty easy to make as well. Had left overs for days.