Roasted Ratatouille with Spaghetti
This roasted ratatouille spaghetti recipe is a fresh and light summer dinner featuring more vegetables than pasta! Burst cherry tomatoes, which are roasted in a separate pan, offer a light tomato sauce that coats the pasta. If you’re not in the mood for pasta, these roasted vegetables and tomatoes would be great on with cooked farro (or other whole grains), on an arugula salad with a simple vinaigrette, as a filling for omelets or as a topping for scrambled eggs. Go easy on the red pepper flakes if you’re sensitive to spice. For even roasting, try to dice the vegetables into roughly the same size pieces.
Ingredients
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 medium yellow squash, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper (or orange or yellow), diced
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- ½ pound (8 ounces) whole grain spaghetti
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with two racks in the middle positions. On a quarter pan or small baking dish, toss the whole baby tomatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the diced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper and onion. Whisk together ¼ cup olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, a few generous twists black pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Drizzle it over the vegetables and toss with your hands or a large spoon until the vegetables are evenly coated.
- On a half-sheet pan or other large, rimmed baking sheet, arrange the vegetables in a single layer. Place the tomatoes on the lower oven rack and the vegetables on the upper rack. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup pasta cooking water. Transfer the cooked pasta to a large serving bowl.
- After 20 minutes, remove both pans from the oven. The tomatoes should be bursting and juicy by now, in which case, they’re done cooking. Use a spatula to toss the vegetables, then arrange them in a single layer again and put them back in the oven for an additional 10 to 20 minutes, or until they are cooked through and golden along the edges.
- Pour the cherry tomatoes and their juices over the spaghetti into the serving bowl. If you want your pasta to be pretty cheesy, now’s the time to sprinkle on a generous handful of shredded Parmesan. Add a baby splash of pasta cooking water and toss until the pasta is coated with a light tomato sauce.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the bowl and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the chopped fresh herbs. If the dish needs more acidity, add another teaspoon or two of vinegar. Season with additional salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until the flavors really sing. Serve with Parmesan on the side.
Notes
Recipe roughly adapted from The Roasted Vegetable by Andrea Chesman.
Make it vegan: Either skip the Parmesan, which I didn’t find essential to the dish anyway, or serve with Minimalist Baker’s cashew and nutritional yeast vegan “Parmesan” (it’s good!).
Make it gluten free: Substitute gluten-free pasta for the whole-grain spaghetti.
Nutrition
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