Roasted Vegetable Tortellini |Cooking With Amanda

Summer is a great time to eat your vegetables. I love going to the local farmers market once a week. Better yet, I have some of the freshest veggies growing right in a small garden patch in my yard.

Pairing vegetables with pasta is my kind of meal. It doesn't have to be meatless Monday for my family to have a nice vegetarian dish for dinner. As a matter of fact, summer is the perfect time to eat vegetarian a few times a week.

Some of my fondest memories are from my childhood when I spent part of the summer at my grandparents' house. I would swim at the beach during the day and stay up late at night watching TV shows like Columbo and Hawaii Five-0 with my grandmother. But another special activity would be to help tend my grandparents' garden. They had tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, lettuce and all kinds of herbs to pick.

I remember being about eight years old and coming in with a basket of fresh vegetables right before dinner. I would help cook them or make a salad and it would make me feel very proud. It was the same feeling I get when I put a meal on the table that my family loves to eat.

I try to avoid turning the oven on in the summer but it's a necessity to make this meal. While vegetables can be sautéed in a pan, roasting really brings out their sweetness and flavor. I will roast several pans at once and have enough for the week. This tortellini calls for roasted vegetables but I will also use them in salads, enchiladas, and sandwiches. Roasted vegetables are the perfect ingredients for many summer meals.

Visit your local farmers market this summer or grow a few vegetables in your garden. There is nothing like eating farm to table and this recipe is the perfect example!

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Roasted Vegetable Tortellini Recipe

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Ingredients

1 medium zucchini squash, sliced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, or grape tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 ounces tortellini pasta with cheese filling
3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, toss together zucchini, tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Spread in a roasting pan and roast for 25 minutes.
While vegetables are roasting, cook tortellini in a large salted pot of water according to package directions. Drain.
In a large pasta bowl, mix together tortellini and roasted vegetables along with any juice from the veggies. Toss in the basil.
Serve with Parmesan cheese if desired.