Roasted Veggie Trapanese Pesto Pasta

We all need quick less-than-30-minute recipes, right? You get home from school and you’re exhausted to cook. You get home from work and cooking up a storm is the last thing on your mind. But then again, it gets too expensive to order Chinese or Thai take-out every night (no matter how much you want to) and it’s probably not even that healthy for you.

That’s why I have this awesome roasted veggie pesto pasta dish for you guys today. It’s a super simple recipe. I promise. All that needs to be done is to throw the pesto ingredients in a food processor, roast up your favorite veggies, boil up some water for some pasta and mix it all together.

Easy peasy, right?

I used up a blend of asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini and jalapeños, along with my favorite chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s, which melded so well together with the tomato base pesto. I’m used to this basil pesto that I make every so often but this trapaense pesto was such a nice change to that. Plus, any pesto that has pepperoncini in it is a win in my book!

So here’s how you make this:

Let’s first start with the pesto. Go ahead and throw in some tomatoes, almonds, basil, pepperoncini, garlic, red pepper flakes and Parmesan in food processor. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper. Once that gets going, stream in the olive oil until the pesto gets nice and emulsified.

Next you’ll roast up your favorite veggies. I used asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini and jalapeños (for some heat) and I threw in a couple of links of chicken sausage. If you want to keep this completely vegetarian, feel free to omit the sausage.

Now we’ll throw in the pasta and pesto, giving it a good stir to get everything combined.

And that’s it. Told you it was easy.

Go ahead and serve this with some more Parmesan, crusty bread and a nice glass of wine.

One year ago: Corn-Mushroom Risotto

Roasted Veggie Trapanese Pesto Pasta (adapted from Bev Cooks):

Yields 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound penne pasta
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup almonds, toasted
• 12 basil leaves
• 2 pepperoncini, stems removed
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 links chicken sausage, chopped
• 8 ounces asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, halved
• 2 zucchinis, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 jalapeños, halved

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.

To make the pesto, combine the tomatoes, almonds, basil, pepperoncini, garlic, red pepper flakes and Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

With the motor running, add 3 tablespoons olive oil in a slow stream until emulsified; set aside.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sausage, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini and jalapeños in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste; gently toss to combine. Place into the oven and roast until tender, about 8-12 minutes; discard jalapeños.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, pesto and roasted vegetables.

Serve immediately with Parmesan, if desired.

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