i bought a silpat about a year ago and never used it, thinking my parchment paper was superior (sometimes i make irrational judgments). after cleaning the kitchen last week, i realized i should probably put my $25 piece of silicone to use and roast some veggies.
enter the asparagus. i chopped it at an angle (i’m sure there’s a culinary term for this) so it matches penne, and throw it into a bowl with minced garlic. pour over some olive oil and give it a good stir. heat up the oven at 400° (450° if i’m in a hurry) and get the pot of water ready for the pasta.
once the oven beeps, i spread the asparagus onto the silpat and stick it in the oven for 10 minutes. this is when i start the pasta water on medium. when the timer beeps at 10, i put the penne in and turn the stove up a little and set the timer for seven minutes.
at the final timer beep, i bring out the asparagus and dump it all back into the original bowl then pour a little bit (maybe 1/4 cup) of pasta water in with it, then drain the penne and toss that in. on top of that, a generous portion of go veggie’s vegan parm* and toss it all together to coat.
admittedly, i then eat directly out of the mixing bowl. why dirty another?
*when i went to get the link for the vegan parm, i found this mediterranean pasta recipe, which will end up being dinner sometime soon.