Easy Pasta recipes - Penne with Summer Vegetables

Easy pasta recipes are plenty, but it is not always so easy to find healthy pasta recipes. Given the choice my family will also opt for a creamy carbonara, lasagnas and or a 3 cheese mac 'n cheese. We are however trying to eat slightly more healthy in this family, by just cutting out unnecessary fats, sauces and sugars. The vegetables that I chose for this recipe are all at their peak now, so they are sweet and the colors are just too beautiful. I also wanted each vegetable to still be prominent in this recipe, so I chose not to have a tomato base sauce, but rather to add the roasted, halved cocktail tomatoes right at the end. The result was a flavorful pasta,packed with the goodness from the vegetables, but without the calories from a creamy sauce.



Penne with Summer vegetables



Ingredients



500gr penne - cooked to packet instructions

1 big onion - finely chopped

4-5 courgettes - diced finely

250gr mushrooms finely chopped

150gr asparagus - cut in chunks

500 gr cocktail tomatoes - halved

fresh thyme

good quality extra virgin olive oil

salt/freshly grounded pepper

juice and zest of a lemon

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 220C and roast the tomatoes with some olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar. When they start to color, remove from the oven and keep aside.

Heat a skillet and a generous glug of the olive oil. Saute the onions for a while and add the other ingredients, except the tomatoes and the asparagus. Keep the heat high and sauté rather than cook the vegetables. When just about ready add the asparagus and the tomatoes. The heat from the other vegetables is enough to cook the asparagus. Just before serving, add another glug of the olive oil and season. Drain the pasta and serve with this delicious "sauce" and freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

If you like a bit of heat, feel free to add some chili or some chili flakes.