PASTA TRAPANESE ROASTED VEGGIE PESTO

A hearty, nutritious, and easy pasta dish with a ton of vegetables!

All of us need easy recipes that take less than 30 minutes. After a long day at school, you are too tired to cook. After a long day at work, cooking is not on your mind. It’s expensive to order Chinese takeout or Thai food every night, and you may not be eating well.

This is why I’m sharing this amazing roasted vegetable pesto pasta with you today. This recipe is super easy. I promise. I promise.

I made a pesto with a tomato base and a mixture of mushrooms, jalapenos, asparagus, and my favorite chicken sausage, all from Trader Joe’s. It was delicious! This Japanese pesto is a great change from the Basil Pesto I usually make. I love any pesto with pepperoncini in it!

Start by making the pesto. Add tomatoes, almonds, and Parmesan to the food processor. Do not forget to add salt and pepper. As soon as the oil is emulsified, add more olive oil.

Then, roast your favorite vegetables. I added some chicken sausage and a few links of chicken chorizo. I also used jalapenos, asparagus, mushrooms, and zucchini (for a little heat). You can omit the chicken sausage if you prefer to make this a vegetarian dish.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound penne pasta
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup almonds, toasted
• Twelve basil leaves
• Remove stems from 2 pepperoncini
• Two cloves garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup
• To taste, add Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
• Divide five tablespoons of olive oil into equal parts.
• 2 Links Chicken Sausage, Chopped
• 8 ounces of asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, halved
• Cut two zucchinis into cubes of 1 inch each after quartering them.
• Two jalapenos halved

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta in a large pot with salted boiling water according to the package directions. Drain well.

To make pesto, place the tomatoes, almonds, and red pepper flakes in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add three tablespoons of olive oil to the motor while it is running. Continue adding until emulsified. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line the baking sheet with parchment. On the baking sheet, arrange sausage, asparagus, and mushrooms in one layer. Add jalapenos. Sprinkle with the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently toss everything together. Place in the oven for 8-12 minutes. Discard jalapenos.

Combine the pasta with pesto, roasted vegetables, and other ingredients in a large mixing bowl.