Vegetarian Pasta Recipes – Conchiglie with Roasted Vegetables

The conchiglie with roasted vegetables is a fine example of a vegetarian pasta recipe that is not only delicious but also nutritious. For those who may not be familiar with what conchiglie is, the conchiglie pasta is actually a shell-like Italian pasta shape which comes in a range of sizes, from tiny shells for soups to jumbo shells which can be stuffed and baked. Sometimes the conchiglie pasta is also referred to as shell pasta as it resembles a sea shell.

Conchiglie with Roasted Vegetables

Anyway, the conchiglie pasta with roasted vegetables is simple to cook and the ingredients used are only a few items. Most ingredients can be easily purchased from the local grocery stores. This vegetarian pasta recipe is very healthy and suitable for even non vegetarians who have decided to take a break from meat-based diet. The flavor is simply superb. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 1 red (bell) pepper, seeded
• 1 yellow or orange (bell) pepper, seeded
• 1 small aubergine (eggplant), roughly diced
• 2 courgettes (zucchini), roughly diced
• 75ml/5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 15ml/1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
• 5ml/1 tbsp dried oregano or marjoram
• 250g/9oz baby Italian plum tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 350-400g/12-14oz/3-3 ½ cups dried conchiglie (shell pasta)
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 4 – 6 fresh marjoram or oregano flowers, to garnish

Steps by Steps Cooking Instructions:

1. We need to roast the vegetable in the first step. Therefore, before roasting the vegetables, preheat the oven to 190°C or 375°F.

2. While waiting for the oven to heat, cut the peppers into 4cm or 1 ½ in squares.

3. At the same time, put the augergine (eggplant) and courgettes (zucchini) under cold running water and rinse them thoroughly.

4. While waiting for the vegetables to drain, prepare a large roasting pan that is to be used later for roasting the vegetables in the oven.

5. Transfer the cut peppers, the augergine (eggplant) and the courgettes (zucchini) to the roasting pan when they are ready.
6. Pour 45ml or 3 tbsp of the olive oil over the vegetables and sprinkle with the fresh and dried herbs. Season to taste and stir well.

7. Roast for about 30 minutes, stir occasionally. Ensure the vegetables are roasted evenly.

8. Hull the tomatoes and halve them lengthways. Add the tomatoes and garlic to the roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes more, stir occasionally.

9. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet instruction.

10. Drain the pasta and transfer into a warm bowl. Add the vegetables and the remaining oil and toss well. Serve sprinkle with a few herb flowers.

11. The pasta is ready to be served.

Nutritional information per portion: Energy 277kcal/1171kj; Protein 9.5g; Carbohydrate 50.3g of which 8.7g is sugars; Fat 5.5g of which 0.6g is saturated fat; Cholesterol 0mg; Calcium 52mg; Fiber 4.6g; Sodium 11mg.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Vegetarian Conchiglie Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.