Roasted pasta 'sauce' for busy fall evenings

Fall inspires me to get back into the kitchen. Now if only it somehow also created lots of extra time for me to do that.

The best I can manage are compromise dishes — meals that are home cooked from scratch but require little hands-on time. Because on beautiful fall afternoons the kitchen may call to me, but so does my son. And he wants me jumping in piles of leaves, not standing at the stove.

This ridiculously easy pasta topped with roasted tomatoes, green peppers, garlic and sausage is a great example. Dump everything on a rimmed baking sheet, toss it in the oven, then go outside and play in the leaves. A little while later, boil up some pasta, spoon the “sauce” over it, top with grated Parmesan and you’re done.

To make this dish even more weeknight friendly, it’s extremely versatile. Use whatever tomatoes you have handy. Ditto for the peppers and pasta variety. And don’t hesitate to add any other vegetables you have. To save even more time, buy pre-chopped veggies in the grocer’s produce section.

AUTUMN ROASTED TOMATO AND SAUSAGE PASTA
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Yield: 6 servings

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic
2 green bell peppers, cored and cut into thick strips
1 large red onion, roughly chopped /
8 ounces white button mushrooms
3/4 pound cooked Italian chicken sausage links, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon each dried oregano and basil
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti noodles
Grated Parmesan
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. On rimmed baking sheet, combine tomatoes, garlic, peppers, red onions, mushrooms, sausage and carrots. Drizzle oil over vegetables, then sprinkle with oregano and basil. Toss vegetables and sausage until coated, then spread in even layer. Roast in oven 40 minutes. (Walk away and do something fun for the first 20 minutes.)
3. Bring large pot of salted water to boiling. Add spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain, then divide between serving plates.
4. Spoon roasted vegetable-sausage mixture, including any juices that have collected in pan, over pasta. Top with Parmesan and pine nuts.