Roasted Vegetable Penne with Ricotta

So today was of course, farmer's market Tuesday. It was so nice outside, and now that spring is here, some of my favorite vegetables are on the tables at the farmer's market. One stand has zuchinni already, and one of my favorite stands had beautiful red, yellow, and green bell peppers. I almost dove into the peppers tits first. But instead, I politely handed Dave my fistful of peppers and smiled like an asshole. Oh, and just to show how pocket friendly farmer's markets are, from Dave's stand, I bought 4 huge apples, 4 peppers, and two grapefruits and two oranges for 9 bucks. Suck on that, Ralph's.

I generally have a menu all planned out in my head for dinner every night, but on Tuesdays I like to peruse the farmer's market and see what looks delicious and what I can make with what they have. At home, I knew I had pasta and ricotta cheese, so I decided I'd make a roasted vegetable pasta with the beautiful peppers and zuchinni and tomatoes I saw.

This serves 2-

Roasted Vegetable Penne with Ricotta

1 large Red pepper (or yellow, but don't use green, not sweet enough)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 onion, sliced

1 large zuchinni, halved and chopped into half moons

1 1/2 cups cauliflower, chopped

2 cloves garlic, whole

2 tbls extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

2 cups whole wheat penne

2 tbls ricotta

2 tbls parmesan

Preheat the oven to 450.

On a baking sheet, toss the vegetables, tomatoes, whole cloves of garlic, and onions with extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. Once the oven is ready, put in the vegetables and roast for 10 minutes. Turn the veggies and roast for another 10 minutes. I like mine pretty well roasted, but as long as they're nice and golden brown and tender- that's great.

Meanwhile, boil a pot of water and once it boils, salt the water and add 2 cups whole wheat penne. Cook until al dente, and reserve a half cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta. *note- rule of thumb is that you should add the pasta right into whatever sauce you're making in a pan and not drain it, but since the sauce is the pasta water and cheese, we're not cooking it in a pan or anything and I don't want to dirty a pan just to mix it all up. Ok, I feel better.-

Sooo, add the pasta back into the pot, add in the vegetables (remove the garlic cloves or chop them up and toss them in too), 2 tbls ricotta, and a little bit of the pasta water and stir. It will all melt together and you'll want to jump in. I add about half a cup of the pasta water- but just add until it's creamy to your liking. Top with chopped basil if you have any, then put a portion in your bowl, top it with some parmesan cheese, and enjoy!