roasted vegetable gratin and broccoflower pasta

i love roasted veg. this recipe is so easy. 30 minutes for the whole recipe start to finish. i served it with broccoflower pasta, which my family loves. really simple recipes. oh and yes a bit of garlic bread on the side.

roasted eggplant, zucchini, tomato gratin

1 medium eggplant, sliced into thin rounds

2 medium zucchin, sliced into thin rounds

8 smallish tomatoes, seeded and sliced 

1 clove garlic

olive oil

salt pepper

preheat oven to 450 degrees farenheit. rub garlic clove all over oval baking dish, really smash it as you go. put sliced eggplant and zucchini in a medium bowl. toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. now arrange veg in pan. i did waves this time. drizzle with a bit more olive oil and salt and pepper. pop the whole thing into the oven. roast for 25 minutes or so. (if you don't overpack your veg into the pan like i did it may be done in 20). ready to serve. now, if you like you can sprinkle with breadcrumbs or parmesan, or parmesan and breadcrumbs and put the whole thing back in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes until nicely browned. easy.

broccoflower pasta

1 head broccoflower, tough stems removed, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces

1 medim onion, chopped

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

olive oil

1 lb linguini, fettucini or penne

set large pan of water to boil for your pasta noodles and cook according to package directions. i usually use rustichella d'abruzzo spaghetti for this dish. i really like italian pastas. anwyay, set medium pan of water to boil for broccoflower. cook broccoflower in salted water until just tender. drain and reserve. saute chopped onion in a medium pan on medium high until tender (about 4 minutes). add broccoflower and stir around for a minute. add about 3 tablespoons heavy cream. allow to simmer for about 4 more minutes. add parmesan. simmer another 2 minutes. pour over drained pasta and mix around a bit in the pan before serving. this is a rich pasta, but something about the flavors and the way they join in the cooking is really special. broccoli or caulifower would also work quite well here. even savoy cabbage. this meal has a lot of parmesan cheese. really good supply of calcium.