Penne with Roasted Eggplant, Squash, Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

i am getting so bold and I love it. going off the book again. the thing i love about pasta is 1) it so easy and 2) you can throw whatever you want in it and it will be tasty. yup, i said it. WHATEVER. for the grad party of BOOF friend, AH, I needed to throw something together that was quick and delicious and gluten free (AH is the roommate of BOOF best friend Mo—the gluten free buddy). I was able to pick up some gluten free pasta from safeway (yup, it does exist) and then I was just going to use some fresh veggies that I had in my fridge. I opted for the eggplant, squash and cherry tomatoes, all veggies that grill very well and are perfect for a summer pasta salad. here we gooooo.

Ingredients

1 Large Eggplant
1 Summer Squash
1 Cup of Cherry Tomatoes
2 oz of Goat Cheese
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions
Ideally, I would have loved to throw these veggies on the grill but I unfortunately had no time for all of that so I just used a grill pan on the stovetop.

1) Boil entire package of pasta according to directions

2) Heat grill pan (because they are made of a thicker metal, they take a little longer to heat up)

3) Cut Eggplant in quarters and chop into cubes.

4) Cut Squash length wise in half and then chop into slices.

5) Cut cherry/grape tomatoes in half

6) Toss both eggplant and squash into a large bowl and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.

7) Transfer the eggplant ans squash into the grill pan and grill for about 5-7 minutes flipping occasionally.

8) After about 4 minutes of heating, add cherry tomatoes to the pan and grill for about another 2-3 minutes.

9) Remove veggies from heat and set aside

10) Drain pasta and transfer to bowl and add grilled veggies. Crumble Goat cheese in bowl and mix well.

11) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

12) Enjoy and Share!!!! :-)



Additional Notes: You could essentially use any type of cheese but I would stick to either feta, goat cheese or gorgonzola. You could also add some other veggies but the only one I would really consider with this recipe is bell pepper. You clearly don’t have to make it Gluten-Free but it wasn’t bad at all!