Fusilli Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and “Hidden” Zucchini

Serves 4
As you eat this unique recipe the juicy, roasted tomatoes break apart into the pasta to make the sauce right on your plate. People at the table might not even notice the extra serving of vegetables you "hid" by grating squash into the pasta, but the flavor will make it a winner.

Ingredients
6 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped basil, divided
1/2 pound whole wheat fusilli
2 zucchini or yellow squash, grated
2 tablespoons lemon juice



Method


Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange tomatoes on a large parchment-lined sheet tray, cut-sides up. Drizzle with oil; season with salt and pepper. Scatter 2 tablespoons Parmesan and 2 tablespoons basil evenly over top. Roast until juicy and bubbling, about 20 minutes; set aside. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add fusilli and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add zucchini, lemon juice, remaining 6 tablespoons Parmesan and 2 tablespoons basil. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide pasta onto four plates, top with tomatoes and serve.

Deviations: I had to make some changes to the recipe. I couldn't find fusilli pasta. In actuality, I've never even heard of it. So I just bought whole wheat rotini. In lieu, of lemon juice I used balsamic vinegar, because Stephanie was not a huge fan of the last dish I made with lemon juice. I also added some chopped garlic to the tomatoes before I roasted them.



Nutrition
Per serving (about 9oz/271g-wt.): 310 calories (60 from fat), 7g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 470mg sodium, 51g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 13g protein




Cooked By: Cristina
Recipe Provided by: Whole Foods



















Commentary:



Aaron: I enjoyed this meal to my suprise. I wasn't really sure of having pasta with no sauce, but this was a good experience. The tomatoes were perfect!!! The pasta by itself had an interesting texture to it which wasn't terrible but wasn't good either, but like I said when the tomato was consumed with it the flavor was great! They were full of flavor and when combined with the pasta the flavor really took off. I think we all agreed this meal needed something else, but I don't think any of us could put our finger on it. I thought mabye adding some sort of mozzerella ball but who knows...anyways I give the meal as a whole a B+ although I think if it really came down to it the grade would be 89.6 which would round it up to an A-



Cristina: First, I would like to apologize for the delay in posting this. It is almost my turn to cook again, so this recipe is nearly 3 weeks old. Our guest judge had something come up, so we were without one this particular meal. I don't remember what I had going on, but I know I was busy and didn't have a lot of time to cook. So I knew I wanted something super fast and relatively healthy. Oklahoma is getting their first Whole Foods store soon, and I couldn't be more excited. I was introduced to Whole Foods when I lived in Dallas, and I was sad to leave it behind when I returned to Oklahoma. So in preparation, I have started scouring Whole Foods website for healthy meal options. This one was so simple and really fast. Start to finish was about 30 minutes.


I was really excited about the tomatoes. I have never liked to eat tomatoes, but for some reason this recipe looked really delicious to me. They turned out better than I could have imagined. The way the tomatoes broke apart in the pasta made a delicious kind of sauce. All the roasted ingredients really worked together. Next time, I will probably roast them a few extra minutes though. The pasta was not my favorite. I have had several whole wheat pastas, but this particular one was too grainy I think. Next time, I will either try a different whole wheat version or i will just go with regular pasta. I am going to continue to look for Fusilli though. The grated zucchini in the pasta was an interesting addition. It gave it some extra texture and an extra serving of vegetables that was greatly appreciated. That was my first time grating zucchini and it was fun. I can't believe there were 2 whole zucchinis in there, because they really were kind of "hidden."

I give this meal a 8.9, only because I would have liked to have a different pasta texture. I loved that it was so fast and easy, and it looked really beautiful on the plate and the tomatoes were so delicious. All in all, I say it was a great success.



Stephanie: