Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Pasta with Toasted Breadcrumbs, Garlic, and Olive Oil

For as much as we like pasta in this house, I cannot believe the lack of pasta recipes I have shared here! I think it is because so many of our pasta dinners I don’t deem “blog worthy.” It is usually just me throwing together whatever I can find in the fridge and throwing it over some whole wheat noodles with a quick pan sauce.

While I might not think these recipes are up to par to share on the Internet, they are definitely easy, filling, healthy, and most importantly delicious. Since you can customize it so many different ways, it is always a great meal to appeal to many different members of your family. I think pasta has gotten a bad rap over time (thank God that awful no carb diet seems to be fading away) but it really can be very nutritious. I try to only use whole wheat pasta, unless its a special occasion, and with the addition of fresh veggies, you get a lot of good stuff all in one bowl.

Our favorite go to pasta meal is one that I shared in the very first week of blogging, this Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli in Oil and Garlic Sauce. It i still our favorite, but sometimes when I forget to take out chicken, I need to find a meatless substitute. By rummaging in our fridge, I found some sad looking asparagus that I had bought for a recipe and never made and also some cherry tomatoes that were on their last leg. Roasting vegetables are a great preparation method for any veggie that has sat a little too long. Roasting brings them back to life and makes them crisp and delicious again.

Feel free to substitute any veggie you like or to use this sauce over just noodles as a great side dish for steak, chicken, or fish. This sauce is a great base for any recipe. I like to add red pepper flakes to it for a little kick sometimes.

PS. If you tell your kids the asparagus is a green bean, they are more likely to eat it, not that I would ever do that! 🙂

Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Pasta with Toasted Breadcrumbs, Garlic, and Olive Oil

Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Pasta with Toasted Breadcrumbs, Garlic, and Olive Oil

Ingredients

1 cup asparagus chopped into 1 inch pieces, stems left out
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes halved
1 lb. whole wheat linguini or spaghetti
1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
3 garlic cloves minced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put your chopped asparagus and tomatoes into a cooking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Put in oven and roasted for 15 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft and asparagus is browning on the edges.
Meanwhile, put water on to boil for pasta and then cook as directed to al dente. Cook pasta in heavily salted water, as this adds to the flavor of the dish.
In a small pan, put your breadcrumbs and garlic cloves. Cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Watch closely so that the garlic does not burn.
Once fragrant, add in 1/3 cup olive oil and reduce heat to low. Let flavors meld while everything else cooks, stirring occasionally.
Once pasta and vegetables are ready, toss everything together, including the olive oil sauce. Taste and then add salt and pepper to taste. You will probably need a generous helping of salt and pepper. Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan. Enjoy!!