There are so many wonderful fresh vegetables available right now, that I felt compelled to heat up the oven, despite the intense summer heat, and roast them up a la Everyday Italian rerun I caught while at home during my lunch break the other day, but with our own spin, since we can’t seem to get enough of roasted broccoli these days.

adapted from Everyday Italian
1 zucchini, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 summer squash, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 crown broccoli, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 small eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes…you get the idea
8-10 cremini mushrooms, halved
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1 inch slices
extra virgin olive oil to lightly coat veggies
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 T herbs de Provence
1 lb penne pasta
3 cups marinara sauce
1 cup chipotle Gouda, grated
1/2 cup Mozzarella, grated
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup, plus more for topping, parmesan cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. On 2 large baking sheets, toss vegetables with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, until they are tender.

2. While the veggies are in the oven, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until not quite done, around 6-7 minutes. Drain and return to pot.

3. In the pot with the pasta, mix the vegetables, marinara sauce, cheeses, peas, and salt and pepper. Mix carefully until everything is thoroughly coated.

4. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour the pasta mixture in, top with the remaining parmesan cheese and bake for about 25 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned.

We loved this stuff and it made a lot, so we froze half of it for later. Don’t worry if you can’t find anything crazy like chipotle gouda…it was a cheese case special, so we picked it up at the time. A mixture of Fontina and smoked mozzarella will do the trick too!