• Prep Time:
  • Cooking Time:
  • Serves: 4 Servings

Rigatoni Al Forno with Roasted Asparagus

  • Recipe Submitted by on

Category: Vegetarian

 Ingredients List

  • 2 tb Olive oil; may be doubled
  • 3 c Chopped onion; large chunks
  • 3/4 lb Rigatoni; or similar
  • -grooved, tubular pasta
  • 1 lb Asparagus; cut into 2"
  • -pieces
  • 1/2 ts Salt; plus more to taste
  • 3 tb Balsamic vinegar; (3 to 4
  • -tbs)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 c Grated parmesan cheese;
  • -(plus extra for the top)
  • 1/2 c Bread crumbs
  • Balsamic vinegar; to serve

 Directions

Preheat oven to 375F/ 190C. Put up a large potful of water to boil.

Pour the oil into a 9x13-inch baking pan (preferably glass). Break up the
onion chunks with your hands, add them to the oil, and stir them around a
little so they get coated. Place the uncovered pan in the oven and roast
for 5 minutes.

When the water reaches a rapid boil, add the pasta and let it begin cooking
while you continue roasting the vegetables.

After the onions have been in the oven for about 5 minutes, stir in the
asparagus and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spread everthing into a
single layer, return the pan to the oven, and roast for 5 minutes longer.

Drain the pasts as soon as it is al dente, and stir it into the panful of
onions and asparagus. Add the 3 to 4 tablespoons vinegar, black pepper, and
parmesan, and mix well. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top, and return
the pan to the oven. Bake uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the
bread crumbs are brown and crisp. Serve hot, and pass around the pepper
mill, extra parmesan and a cruet of additional balsamic vinegar, if
desired. Yields 4 to 5 servings. Prep time 30 minutes. PER SERVING: 522
cals, 11.3 g fat, 19.4%

"Al forno means 'oven-baked,' and that's one of the wonderful features of
this dish. The vegetables are cooked in a roasting pan right in the oven
and cooked pasta gets added directly to the same pan. Cover, return the pan
to the oven, then bring it directly to the table when it's done. This is a
great make-after-work dish, and the cleanup is minimal.

*To make this for a crowd, bake two pans simultaneously.

**The rigatoni can be cooked a day or two in advance, lightly oiled and
stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or you can boil it
while you roast the vegetables, as indicated in the recipe.

MENU: Potato Soup with Rosemary and Roasted Garlic; Yuppie Platter: A Warm
Salad of Radicchio, Belgian Endive, and Goat Cheese; Rigatoni al Forno with
Roasted Asparagus amd Onions; Lemon Cloud.

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