Roasted Vegetable Sauce and Penne Pasta
If you want an easy and delicious way to make this sauce, try roasting your vegetables. It brings out the latent sugars in vegetables and creates a luscious browning, so this sauce has an inherent sweetness and depth that won't be achieved by sauteing. In the summer, for a fun twist, you can always grill your vegetables rather than roast them.
We dressed this sauce up with our herbaceous New York Pizza Sauce Seasoning to provide contrast to the deep, roasted flavors. This sauce was perfect paired with whole wheat penne and would also make a great base for your favorite pizza.
Here's a helpful hint: You're going to blend this sauce, so if your eggplant has skin that seems very thick, you can peel it. A thick skin will still stay a little bit leathery even after it's been roasted and can impart an unpleasant texture to your sauce.
- 4 plum tomatoes, cut into quarters
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into quarters
- 1 eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 red onion, peeled and cut into quarters
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper Coarse Grind to taste
- 1 cup chicken broth or vegetable stock
- 1 Tablespoon New York Pizza Sauce Seasoning
- 1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Combine tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers, eggplant and onion on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Drizzle with olive oil, toss to combine.
- Add Kosher Salt and Black Pepper Coarse Grind to taste.
- Roast for 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender and slightly charred. Toss every 15 to 20 minutes during cooking.
- While the vegetables are in the oven, heat the chicken or vegetable broth over medium heat and then lower the heat and keep warm until ready for use.
- Transfer vegetables to a blender or food processor and add broth and New York Pizza Sauce Seasoning. Blend until smooth, adding additional broth as needed to achieve desired consistency.
- Helpful Hint: To prevent hot food from splashing out, only fill blender 1/2 full. Make sure lid is securely in place before starting the blender and hold a towel over the lid while blender is on. Work in batches if necessary.
- Prepare pasta as per package instructions.
- Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
- In a large serving bowl, combine pasta and sauce. Use a little of the pasta water if needed to get the sauce to its desired consistency.
- Garnish with Parmesan cheese and more black pepper if desired. Serve immediately.
