pasta primavera

this is giada de laurentiis' recipe. but i made some substitutions as i lacked some of the ingredients and a lot of revisions in the procedure as i am a lazy cook. i like shortcuts, to make life easier. the picture is mine though, i prepared this recipe last year and it was a hit with my brother who is a pasta freak like me. i intend to cook this again soon as the memory of it makes my mouth water.


Ingredients

* 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
* 2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips [i used eggplant]
* 2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
* 1 onion, thinly sliced [and i added minced garlic too]
* 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
* 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence [i just used parsely and thyme]
* 1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)[i used spaghetti, my all time favorite pasta]
* 15 cherry tomatoes, halved [i used regular tomatoes]
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

my version: stir fry garlic, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, squash, and eggplant in olive oil. add thyme and parsely when veggies wilt, sprinkle with salt and pepper. transfer to large bowl, add freshly cooked spaghetti and then grated parmesan cheese. toss to combine all ingredients. serve hot!