I have been making versions of this dish for over 20 years, after first trying roasted vegetables with pasta at a restaurant in Islington back in the 1990s.
In that time, I've experimented with different vegetable combinations and sometimes throw in some asparagus, if there's some lurking in the fridge. Courgettes are an obvious choice, but they tend to go a little soggy if you include them too early in the roasting time.
Initially, I used chilli oil for added flavour and heat, but now prefer to use chorizo - although if you wish to make a vegetarian version, then this is a good alternative. More recently I've swapped cubes of mozzarella for haloumi, as it's a lovely change of texture and is delicious when crispy from roasting.
Serves 4
2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
2 medium red onions
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
200g cherry tomatoes
100g chestnut mushrooms
1 pack of Haloumi
110g cooking chorizo
Handful of fresh basil leaves
200g - 300g penne dried pasta
Fresh parmesan
Rocket (optional)
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
- Cut the onions into 1 cm wedges and the peppers into 1-2 cm slices (or diced pieces).
- Tip the onions and peppers into a large, deep-side roasting tin and toss with 1½ tablespoons of olive oil.
- Place in the heated oven for 20 minutes.
- Whilst the vegetables are roasting, cut the mushrooms and chorizo into 1cm slices.
- Dice the haloumi into 2cm cubes.
- After 20 minutes, take the roasting tin out of the oven and add the mushrooms, chorizo, haloumi and cherry tomatoes. Stir to combine and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
- Return to the oven and Increase the temperature to 210°C.
- 5 minutes later, add the dried pasta to a pan of salted boiling water (assuming you cook your pasta for approx 15 minutes)
- 5 minutes after that, remove the roasting tin from the oven and tip the baking tray to one side. Spoon the tomato and chorizo juices into a small dish.
- After a further 10 minutes, drain the pasta.
- Remove the roasting tin from the oven and stir in the drained pasta, reserved tomato and chorizo juices and torn basil leaves. Stir to combine.
- Serve with grated parmesan and rocket.
