Roasted Broccoli & Tomato Pasta

I am a great lover of carbs…sigh lovely carbs!  

I have friends and you probably do too, that are doing the low carb thing; and, well ya know that they’ve already blown it with Thanksgiving, and what about Christmas?  If my friends happen to be reading this...sorry, but I'm just sayin'!

While I get that eating carbs in the form of cookies and chocolate maybe isn’t a good thing, I just don’t get how eating things like nutrient dense apples, bananas, and sweet potatoes is a bad thing!

This is my opinion, but I think an educated one; that a diet of mostly fresh, whole foods with lots of fruits and veggies will keep us healthy and lean (probably not model skinny, but a healthy weight).  

Now I’m no monk when it comes to food.   Like I said, I love carbs, carbs are lovely, especially bread and pasta…sigh, but I feel that by compensating with eating tons of fresh veggies with my beloved carbs that things are even Steven.

Roasted Broccoli & Tomatoes Pasta is an example of my food philosophy.  It’s a simple dish that goes together super quick, it's almost half veggies to half pasta.

Roasting the broccoli and tomatoes in heart healthy olive oil gives the dish really good flavor; serve it up with a salad and you can go ahead and eat a big ol’ bowl of this veggie filled pasta without any remorse!  Boo Ya!

Here’s what you do.

Add some broccoli that has been cut into bite sized pieces, and some halved grape or cherry tomatoes; drizzle over 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil (it may seem like a lot of oil, but it is basically the pasta sauce) and season with Herbs de Provence, salt & pepper.

Roast the veggies in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the broccoli is tender a slightly caramelized.

Pasta water should be really salty, I add a nice handful of salt to boiling water.

Linguini is my favorite pasta, I add it to the boiling water and set a timer for 7 minutes, it actually takes about 9 minutes of cooking time for it to be al dente, but don't worry the pasta will be cooked further.

Before draining the pasta, remove 1 cup of the water.

Add the pasta back to the pot along with the roasted veggies and all of that olive oil that the veggies cooked in.  

If you like, you could even add some cut up left over chicken or turkey at this point as well.

Season with a little salt and pepper.

A couple of pinches of crushed chili is nice.

Add about 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water, cook and stir over medium-high heat until the pasta is cooked to your liking; add the remaining pasta water if needed.

Serve with some grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

ROASTED BROCCOLI & TOMATO PASTA

Serves 4

6             cups       Broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces (about 1 bunch)

2              cups       Grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

¼             cup        Extra virgin olive oil

1               tsp.       Herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning

                            Salt & pepper to taste

¾             lb.          Pasta, such as linguini or penne, a box is usually one pound

2              pinches   Crushed red chili pepper

1              cup         Reserved pasta water

   1.       Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

   2.       Lay the broccoli and tomatoes in a shallow baking dish or sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning), a little salt & pepper and toss to coat.  Roast in the hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes; until the broccoli is tender and slightly caramelized.

   3.       Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package directions state.  Drain the cooked pasta, being sure to first reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

   4.       Add the drained pasta back to the pot it was cooked in; add the roasted vegetables along with all of the olive oil that they cooked in, as well as the chili pepper, salt & pepper to taste, and about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water.  Cook while stirring over medium-high until the pasta is completely cooked, add the remaining pasta water if needed. 

   5.       Serve with grated parmesan.

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