I have made this Mediterranean Vegetable and Pesto Pasta dish for dinner quite a few times now – and it has been a real hit every time! Roasted vegetables, tossed in homemade pesto and then mixed with pasta and feta cheese! A perfect evening meal for the warm summer months!
How do you make this Mediterranean Vegetable and Pesto Pasta?
This Mediterranean vegetable and pesto pasta dish could not be easier to make! All you do is roast some lovely Mediterranean vegetables, including aubergine and courgettes, in the oven, before mixing them with green basil pesto, cooked pasta and some feta cheese!
If you are using shop-bought pesto or have already made some green basil pesto in advance, it will take you under half an hour to make this dish! And most of the time just involves waiting for the vegetables to roast and the pasta to cook, so the hands-on time is really minimal! Perfect for a quick and easy meal on a busy weeknight!
Variations of the Recipe
This recipe is not only quick and easy to make, but also extremely versatile! Feel free to mix and match the veg according to your taste, or double up on one of the veg components if you don’t like the other. I however, am a massive fan of aubergine (they are my favourite vegetable), and also love courgettes, peppers and red onions. Once roasted, they just taste absolutely incredible!
For an even quicker meal fix, you could also fry the vegetables in a frying pan for 10-15 minutes until soft and cooked through. However, if you have the time, I would recommend using the oven as roasting the vegetables creates an even better flavour!
Finally, while shop-bought pesto will definitely do the trick, nothing beats a homemade green basil pesto! It’s actually surprisingly easy to make, and once you’ve tried it once, you’ll never want to go back to bought pesto! I have a nice and easy green pesto recipe on my blog here, and you can even make the pesto well in advance and/or make a very large quantity which can last you for multiple meals! So please do give it a try if you have the time!
More delicious Pasta Dishes
Pasta is comfort food, and nothing beats a delicious and easy pasta dish in the evening! As I mentioned above, I also believe that homemade green pesto is a game-changer, and I have lots of yummy recipes using homemade pesto on my blog already! I have made a list of my favourite (pesto and non-pesto) pasta recipes below, so make sure to go and check out some of the other recipes!
- Creamy Chicken and Pesto Pasta
- Spaghetti with a Tomato and Meatball Sauce | Lady and the Tramp
- Butternut Squash and Tomato Tagliatelle
- Pasta with Cheese Sauce and Crispy Bacon
- Spaghetti Alioli (Aglio e Olio) | Family Favourite
- Smoky Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti
- Pasta with Spinach Sauce and Salmon
- Creamy Hummus Linguine
- Fingal’s Butternut Squash Pasta
- Easy Lasagne Recipe
- Spaghetti Pesto with Feta Cheese
Mediterranean Vegetable and Pesto Pasta | Easy Pasta Recipe
Recipe
Ingredients (serves 2, easily doubled):
- 2 small or 1 large red onion
- 1 large aubergine
- 1 large courgette
- 2 red peppers
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
- Fresh or dried rosemary
- 3-4 tablespoons of green basil pesto (homemade (recipe and ingredients here) or shop-bought)
- 120g Rigatoni pasta (or any other shape)
- 100g feta cheese
- Fresh basil, to serve (optional)
- Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve (optional)
Method:
- If you are making the pesto from scratch, it’s best to make it before you start with the rest. Please follow my recipe here for the homemade pesto, if using shop-bought just skip to step 2.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a large roasting tray with tinfoil.
- Peel the red onions and cut it into wedges. Break apart the individual layers of the onions slightly and scatter onto the prepared baking tray. Wash the aubergine, courgette and peppers and then cut them into chunks, around 1.5×1.5cm.
- Put all the vegetables in the roasting tray and season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter over some dried or fresh rosemary sprigs, then drizzle the olive oil over the top. Use your hands to toss all the vegetables in the spices and oil until evenly coated.
- Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked and slightly charred, turning them once half-way through.
- Near the end of the roasting time, bring a large pot of water to the boil and add a generous amount of salt to the water. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions (around 9-11) minutes.
- Drain the pasta but reserve some of the cooking water for later. I find it easiest to pour some of the water into a mug first, then drain the pasta in a colander.
- Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and add 3-4 generous tablespoons of the green basil pesto on top. Toss the veg in the pesto, then add in the pasta and mix everything together. If necessary, use some of the reserved pasta water to help spread the pesto around.
- Finally, crumble over the feta cheese and mix it through.
- Serve the dish hot with an optional sprinkle of fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese.
