Roasted Vegetables with Fresh Roasted Tomato Sauce Over Penne

Note: Unless you have two ovens or depending on the size of your oven, you may have to roast the vegetables and the tomatoes at separate times.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE VEGETABLES:
Preheat oven to 425-degrees F. Line three baking sheets with foil, set aside.

Dice eggplant, onions, red and yellow bell peppers, and green and yellow zucchini into approximately 1/2-3/4 inch pieces. Hint: for the eggplant and zucchini, slice lengthwise into several 1/2-inch thick pieces or ‘steaks’, then dice.

Put the diced veggies in a large bowl. Drizzle well with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly. Add more olive oil if necessary.

Divide the vegetables between two of the baking sheets. Spread vegetables into a single layer in each pan.

Place in preheated oven, one pan on each oven rack. Roast for approximately 15-20 minutes. Stir the vegetables, then exchange pan placement in the oven and roast for another 15-20 minutes until vegetables begin to show a little char in places. Just a little; you don’t want to burn them. Please don’t burn them.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE TOMATOES
Cut off the stem end of the tomatoes, then slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise. If they are very large tomatoes, they made need to be cut in quarters.

Place the tomatoes on the third foil lined baking pan with the cut side up. Drizzle generously with olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast the tomatoes the same as for the vegetables – 15-20 minutes on each side. Turn the tomatoes over about half way through the roasting process. Then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool a bit.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE SAUCE:
When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, put all of the tomatoes into a blender. Pour the juices and oil from the tomato baking pan into the blender along with the tomatoes. Blitz this in the blender until smooth.

Put the roasted vegetables from one pan in the blender along with the tomatoes and blitz until smooth. Work in batches if necessary. Save the other pan of vegetables and do not puree them. You’ll use them later.

Put the tomato-vegetable puree into a sauce pot. Add the chopped basil, oregano, fresh chopped garlic, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Cook over low heat until warmed through for several minutes. If sauce is too thick, add a little vegetable broth or water to thin to desired degree.

While tomato mixture is cooking, prepare the pasta according to package directions. Cook until al dente.

TO SERVE: Drain pasta and place on large serving platter. Add sauce on top of pasta. Pour remaining pan of vegetables on top of tomatoes. Sprinkle with either Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Romano. Garnish with more minced basil if desired.