The whole wheat rigatoni with roasted vegetable is a healthy dish which is rich in vitamins C and A. The dish is packed with nutritious fiber and healthy heart fats as well. You can include the dish in the main course of your meal. It is healthy, tasty and filling. It has an easy preparation which takes less time to cook. It is delicious and generally, kids love to have it. The dish is supposed to be served hot. Here are certain steps that you can follow to make a whole wheat rigatoni with roasted vegetables in your own kitchen.
Complexity level: Easy
Estimated time: 50 minutes to 1 hour
Ingredients required:
- 1/2 pound whole wheat rigatoni
- 2 tablespoon of parsley
- 1 and 1/2 pound acorn squash
- 1/4 cup basil leaves
- 1 onion
- 10 unpeeled garlic cloves
- 6 plum tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tablespoon ground red pepper
- salt and ground pepper
- 2 tablespoon of pecorino cheese
Cook whole wheat rigatoni
Boil 2 to 3 cups of water in a wide mouth pan and add 2 pinches of salt to it. Put 1/2 pound whole wheat rigatoni into the boiling water. Once it is cooked, drain the hot water out and put some cold water to stop the pasta from cooking any further. Drain out the water again. You can also use a wide mouthed strainer to throw out the extra water. Put the strainer under cold running water to stop the noddles from cooking any further. Set aside the boiled rigatoni.
Roasting pine nuts
Blanch the pine nuts in the boiled water for 2-3 minutes. Strain out the water and dry then with towel before cooking. Spread the pine nuts on the cookie sheet evenly in a thin layer. Spread a little oil with help of a brush before spreading the pine nuts on it. Take a microwave container and put 2 tablespoons of raw pine nuts in it. Brush the pine nuts with little olive oil and sprinkle the red pepper before putting it in the microwave. Place the container in the microwave and treat it on high for 2 to 3 minutes and take it out.
Roasting vegetables
Preheat the oven to 350 degree Celsius. Now take two baking sheets. Slice the onion into 1/4 inch thick and toss it with acorn squash. Spread onion on one baking sheet and drizzle it with one tablespoon of olive oil. On the other baking sheet put halved tomatoes and garlic cloves and put enough olive oil required for roasting them. Season onions, tomatoes and garlic with pepper and salt. Roast for about 40 minutes till the vegetables are tender. It may be that you will have to roast the tomatoes for a little longer. Now, let them cool and then peel of the tomato and the garlic cloves. Chop the flesh of the tomatoes coarsely.
Seasoning
Next step is to heat one tablespoon of olive oil and cook the roasted pine nut along with the roasted vegetables at moderate flame. You should continue stirring and cooking for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Scrape the mixture into the pasta bowl. Now finely chop parsley and basil and add it to the bowl. Toss the mixture together.
Serving
Serve the pasta in four bowls and spread 1/2 tablespoon of pecorino cheese over each bowl. Serve the whole wheat rigatoni with roasted vegetables hot.
FAQs
Can some more varieties of vegetables be included in the recipe?
Of course, you can include other vegetables as well. You will have to decide which one you want to roast and which one you can keep raw. However, this is the most basic version of whole wheat rigatoni with roasted vegetables.
Quick tips
- Add two to three drops of oil in the salt water when boiling the rigatoni. This prohibits the noodles to stick with each other.
- Roasting can be when you use microwave.
Things to watch out for
- Allow the pine nuts to rest for few minutes as they continue to cook even after pulling out of the oven.
- Roasted vegetables as well as the pine nuts should be allowed to cool down before continuing with the next process.
