The Recipe Trove

adapted from Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook

5 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 bell pepper, cut into chunks

3 cloves garlic, peeled, but left whole

5 roma tomatoes

An assortment of fresh herbs as desired

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 cup vegetable broth

1 pound cooked pasta, 1 cup of pasta cooking water, reserved

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425º.

Combine the carrots, onion, garlic cloves and bell pepper on a sheet pan.  Drizzle with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper.  Toss gently.  Place in the oven to roast for 30 minutes, stirring twice while roasting.

At the same time, cut the toma tomatoes in half, and place them in a baking dish, cut side up.  Add any fresh herbs you desire (or dried if it’s what you have on hand), and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

Once all the vegetables are roasted, scrape them into a blender, and add the 1 cup of vegetable broth.  Leave the top of the blender askew just a touch when blending a hot liquid to allow steam to escape.  Blend until smooth.

Toss the roasted carrot sauce with the hot pasta, adding the reserved pasta water as desired to loosen the sauce a bit.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6.