If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I love a good home-cooked meal. And I honestly really enjoy making more complicated things—IF I have a good amount of time in the evening. For me, spending 2 hours in the kitchen making something special and beautiful is a great way to unwind. I know a lot of people might not relate to that, but it is one of my passions!
BUT this post is not about that. This is about a meal I’ve been making recently that checks every box that I need on certain weeknights. It is quick, it is easy, it is healthy (tons of veggies and a bit of protein), and I find myself craving it.
I don’t even know what the name of this dish would be. It’s basically a big bowl of pasta with sauce, but you just use roasted vegetables instead of any pasta! I don’t know why I’ve never done this sooner, but it’s strangely DELICIOUS.
I almost feel silly making an entire blog post about this, because it’s one of those no-recipe recipes. There are no measurements. This is all you do:
1. Roast vegetables. Anything you like. My personal favorites are Romanesco (a green cousin of cauliflower—TRUST me on this. It’s one of my favorite veggies ever), regular cauliflower, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, asparagus, green beans, the list goes on. In the pictures I’m using Romanesco, zucchini, and bell peppers. I roast them for maybe 20 minutes at 415 degrees with just some olive oil, salt, and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, heat some sauce in a saucepan until it is lightly simmering. This is where you really want to go for quality. I know you can make your own sauce of course, but this is for an easy weeknight meal. In my opinion, Rao’s Arrabbiata (which is like a spicy marinara) is the best of the best. They sell it at most groceries, at least where I live.
3. Slice and cook some type of sausage—it can be vegetarian “sausage” links, chicken sausage, regular Italian sausage, whatever. Lots of options for every diet at most grocery stores.
4. Once the vegetables are roasted, put them on a plate and cover with the hot Arrabbiata sauce (however much you like).
5. Add the cooked sausage on the top.
6. Finish it off with a squeeze of lemon, drizzle of olive oil, and some flaky sea salt.
I don’t know why, but this is such a satisfying, filling, & delicious meal to me. It’s way more simplified than what I normally cook, but it’s so nice to be able to throw it together really easily. I also feel like I’m getting tons of veggies and enjoying the comfort of a big bowl of pasta, but without the heaviness and tiredness that can come with digesting a bunch of carbs.
Enjoy!!