Roasted Vegetable Pasticcio with Rigatoni, Feta and Fresh Herbs

This recipe is from Rebar (pg. 169) with a few slight alterations. You can basically use any vegetable that you might have in your fridge in this dish. When I made two nights ago I found the final result a bit bland. Cole suggested I add additional fresh herbs to the leftovers and drizzle olive on top before re-heating. This turned out to be a good suggestion and the pasta was really good on the second night.

Ingredients

20 oz dry rigatoni pasta
1 medium red onion
1 medium eggplant
2 yellow or red peppers
2 small zucchini
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cracked pepper
8 garlic cloves
1 cup chopped fresh oregano,
mint or basil
½ bunch Italian parsley,
chopped zest of one lemon
3 tbsp capers
½ cup chopped pitted olives
¼ chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 cups grated mozzarella1
½ cups feta cheese
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
Approximately ¼ cup butter, chopped

1)    Cook pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss with a light coat of olive oil. Set aside.

2)    Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Chop red onion, eggplant and peppers in ½” square pieces. Cut zucchini into ½ thick half moon slices. In a large bowl, toss vegetables with olive oil salt and pepper and garlic. Spread them out on two lightly oiled baking trays and roast until vegetables are soft and golden (about 15 minutes). Remove the vegetables and reduce the oven temperature to 350.

3)    In a large bowl, toss together cooked pasta, roasted vegetables, lemon zest, capers, 2 cups mozzarella, feta cheese and all but 2 tbs of the chopped herbs. Spoon entire mixture into an poled 9 X 13” glass baking dish.

4)    Make the topping by combining fresh breadcrumbs with the remaining cup of grated cheese, reserved chopped herbs and spread of casserole. Sprinkle chopped butter on top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until bubbly and golden on top