Sausage and Roasted Vegetable Penne.

Sausage and Roasted Vegetable Penne
Adapted from Melissa D'Abrabian's recipe of the same name

1 onion, cut into wedges
1 medium zucchini, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise
1 red bell pepper quartered, cheeks and core removed
1/2 pound button mushrooms (or portobellos, etc)
1 head of garlic, top sliced off
2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, washed and dried
2 sweet or hot Italian sausages, casings removed and thinly sliced (if you don't eat sausage you could try turkey kielbasa, tofu, etc. Whatever you like!)
1/4-1/3 Cup white wine
1 or 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
12 ounces whole-grain penne, cooked. *Reserve 1/2 pasta water!
Freshly grated Parmesan

*Note, you can skip the sausage! You can also dice the garlic and saute it, then add the wine (instead of roasting a whole head, you'd do about 2 cloves).

Heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the vegetables together in a bowl (except the tomaties and garlic) with about a Tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper. You want to leave them in larger pieces to roast and then after they're roasted, you'll chop 'em up! Spread the onions, zucchini, red pepper, and mushrooms on a baking sheet (you may want to spray with cooking spray). Place the garlic on the sheet, sliced side up. Roast in over for 25-30 minutes, then add the tomatoes on and roast another 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye out to make sure they don't get too crispy! Take those babies out, let them cool a few minutes, and chop them up. Pull out the cloves of garlic and chop them too, or just smash them. If they get brown, don't add that part (it may be bitter). The whole clove may seem like a lot, but roasting it sweetens and lightens the flavor and it don't be overwhelming.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add the sausage and saute until it is cooked through. Turn up the heat and deglaze your pan with the white wine. You can use a bit more or less than is called for. If you don't have white wine you could use chicken broth, but just keep in mind that you'll definitely lose some of the fantastic flavor that wine brings. Add 1-2 Tbsp. of tomato paste (I like the super concentrated Amore brand-- it keeps for quite a while in the fridge and comes in a hand tube) and stir in. (Note: If you've used sweet sausages or something other than hot sausages, you might want to add about a half tsp. or red chili flakes in-- it'll give it a nice subtle kick.)

Chop up the vegetables and add them to the pan. Let that all simmer together a bit and add some of the pasta water to loosen things up if you need to. Toss in some salt and pepper, and then add in your cooked pasta. If you are making this for two people (like I always am!) you can half the amount of pasta, but you may want to just make the sauce as is-- leftovers are delicious!

Now, serve and enjoy! Top with some salty parmesan cheese, and have at it! A slice of the no-kneed bread goes really well with it.

ENJOY! Let me know if you make it, how it turns out, and what you do to it to make it your own!