a thrown together meal

Tuesday is here and that means it's time for another recipe.  I must admit, cooking has been a little hit or miss for me lately (and likely will remain so until the end of the semester,) but I am excited to share this concoction with you.  This is my attempt at taking whatever fresh produce was on sale at the grocery store (b. sprouts, broccoli, and tomatoes) and incorporating them into a meal involving a rotisserie chicken and whole wheat pasta.  While pasta, meat and veggies are all well and good, the real show stopper of the meal was the sauce- truffle, garlic and herb béchamel.  So, without further ado...

Roasted Veggie Pasta with Truffle, Garlic and Herb Béchamel:

Pasta Ingredients:

Fresh Vegetables (I used brussel sprouts, broccoli, and grape tomatoes)

1 1/2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Garlic Salt

Pinch of Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

Whole Wheat Pasta

Rotisserie Chicken, shredded, torn, or chopped (this is an optional addition for all of you who live with carnivores...)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  

2. Chop vegetables and place in a large bowl.  Coat vegetables with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.  (You can also do this in a plastic ziploc if you prefer.)  Transfer vegetables to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and roast in oven for 20-25 minutes.  (I separated my veggies and roasted the brussel sprouts and broccoli for 20-25 minutes, then added tomatoes to the baking sheet and roasted all of the veggies for an additional 10 minutes.)3. In the meantime, prepare the sauce (directions below) and cook pasta according to package directions.

4. When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Add 3/4 of the sauce and toss to coat noodles.  

5. When the vegetables are done roasting, add a pinch of salt to the veggies (adding the salt after they roast helps them get crispier.) Add vegetables and rotisserie chicken (if desired) to the pasta and top with remaining sauce if desired.  (You can also save the sauce to add to leftovers the next day.)

roasted vegetables

mixing it all together

Sauce Ingredients:

2 Tbs. Butter

2 cloves Garlic, chopped (I use the pre-chopped kind from the grocery store- 2 cloves = 1tsp.)

2 tsp. Herbs, chopped (I used an Herbs de Provence dried mix)

2 Tbs. Flour

1 1/2 C. Milk

Salt

White Truffle Oil

Directions: 

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan. 

2. Add garlic and herbs and saute for 1 minute.

3. Add flour and stir until smooth and bubbling.

4. Add milk and stir until the sauce thickens to desired consistency.

5. Remove sauce from heat and stir in truffle oil (I just used a little- about 1/2 tsp- it goes a long way and has a powerful flavor!)

bechamel sauce

Enjoy!

xo,