Roasted Mediterranean Veg with Pasta

Cooked and drained conchiglie pasta is stirred through assorted roasted veg

This is an incredibly simple but ultra tasty and healthy dish, based upon two different popular aspects of Italian cuisine: pasta and sunshine fresh vegetables. Although I'm certainly no vegetarian, I could probably eat something like this just about every night and it is of course incredibly variable if you use different vegetables, pastas and herbs.

Supermarket pack of assorted vegetables ready for roasting

Ingredients

12 ounce pack of mixed roasting Mediterranean vegetables
2 tablespoons olive oil
Generous pinch of dried basil
Generous pinch of dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 coffee mug full of conchiglie pasta (pasta shells)
2 or 3 medium basil leaves, rolled and shredded, to garnish

Mediterranean vegetables ready for roasting

Directions

These oven-ready trays of mixed Mediterranean vegetables are available in many supermarkets but if you can't get hold of one, simply mix and match your own vegetables of choice and cook them in an appropriate ovenproof dish.. This tray included red and yellow bell peppers (capsicums), courgette (zucchini), red onion and cherry tomatoes.

Vegetables are carefully stirred half way through cooking

Start your oven preheating to 220C/450F/Gas Mark 8. Season the vegetables with the dried basil and oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and mix carefully but well with a wooden spoon. Put the tray in to the oven for half an hour, removing to carefully stir again half way through cooking.

Measuring out a portion of conchiglie pasta

You can measure out the pasta any way you choose but I find that a coffee mug of dry shells is a good indication of how much is required per person.

Conchiglie pasta is added to a pot of heavily salted boiling water

Remember that you need plenty of water in which to cook the pasta. Too little water is what causes pasta to stick as the starch isn't sufficiently diluted as the pasta cooks. The water should also be heavily salted. Bring the water to a boil before adding the pasta to cook for ten minutes.

Conchiglie pasta is thoroughly drained

Drain the pasta thoroughly through a colander or sieve.

Drained pasta is added to tray of roasted vegetables

Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and add the well drained pasta to the tray.

Pasta is carefully stirred through roasted vegetables

Stir the pasta carefully through the vegetables with a wooden spoon.

Pasta and roasted vegetables are plated

Use a slotted spoon to plate the pasta and vegetables.

Fresh basil leaves ready for rolling and slicing

Lay the basil leaves one on top of another, roll and finely slice. Scatter over the plated pasta and vegetables.

A spoon makes eating the pasta and veg easier