Pasta Primavera

This recipe is courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis (and her cookbook Everyday Italian, one of my favorites) and it is fabulous. It is so easy and very flexible. I'm going to give you the original recipe, but any vegetables can be used (I put some asparagus in last night) or omitted. I'm sure that any short cut pasta would work as well. Basically use whatever is left in your pantry! Enjoy!

• 3 carrots, peeled
• 2 medium or 1 large zucchini
• 2 yellow summer squash
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 pound farfalle pasta (bow-tie)
• 15 cherry tomatoes
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450. Cut the veggies into thin 2-inch-long strips. On a large, heavy baking sheet, toss the vegetable strips, onion, oil, dried herbs, and 2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper to coat. Transfer half the vegetable mixture to another large, heavy baking sheet, and arrange the vegetables evenly over both sheets. Bake, stirring after the first 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the other vegetables begin to brown, about 20 minutes total.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the cooked vegetables to combine. Add the cherry tomatoes and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.