Roasted Vegetable Sauce With Capers And Cherry Tomatoes
When choosing peppers, eggplants and zucchinis, squeeze them lightly to ensure the flesh is firm. When buying leeks, look for a good proportion of white trunk, the really tender, sweet part. The leaves needn’t be wasted, however -provided they are fresh, just cut them off and use them to make stock.
Ingredients
- 1 small eggplant, about 100 g
- 1 red pepper, halved and deseeded
- 1 yellow pepper, halved and deseeded
- 100 g zucchinis
- 100 g leeks, split and well washed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 400 g dried pasta, such as ridged penne or tubetti
- 1 -2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
- 100 g cherry tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
- 6 sprigs of rosemary, to serve
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6).
- Cut the eggplant, peppers, zucchinis and leeks into bite-sized pieces, about 2 cm square, and arrange in a single layer in a roasting tin. Add the rosemary, garlic and oil and mix well with your hands. Cover with foil, transfer to the preheated oven and roast for 20-30 minutes until tender.
- Remove and discard the foil, add the capers and cherry tomatoes, stir well and roast for a further 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, or according to the instructions on the packet.
- Add the roasted vegetables to the drained pasta, stir well and spread out on a serving plate. Sprinkle with oil and rosemary and serve with Parmesan. #Variation# Instead of cherry tomatoes, add 3 tablespoons black olives.