I am a scientist who loves to cook because there are many similarities between working in a lab and cooking in a kitchen. I love to share my cooking experience with you and to inspire others to cook.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Roasted Vegetable Pasta (Pasta Oglio Olio)



Has it really been 5 months since I last posted something? Wow!!

This is an uncomplicated dish that is easy to prepare and simple to make. It is as simple as saying A-B-C, or rather R-C-M.

R - roast the vegetable
C - cook the pasta
M - mix everything together

Still following?



Right. Let's continue. 

I have selected bell peppers and zucchini as the base of my pasta. Mushroom was added as an after thought. 



Instructions:
1. Cut the vegetables to similar size.
2. Drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper over the vegetable.


3. Place a few cloves of garlic.
4. Roast the vegetable at 200 degree celcius for 1 hour (remember to pre-heat the oven)
5. Cook the pasta (it is all about timing).


6. Drain the pasta and mix the roasted vegetable with the pasta.
7. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to adjust the taste.
8. Garnish and serve.





I am not a big fan of bell peppers nor am I a big fan of raw garlic. Roasted bell peppers and garlic? Now that's something else. The roasting process mellows the taste, caramelizes the sugar and brings out the sweetness. With some good quality olive oil, just enough salt and black pepper, this dish is D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.   How much simpler can it go?

The only drawback? It takes a long time to roast the vegetable - 1 hour. It would have been better if this dish can be put together in 30 minutes.