Baked Penne with Summer Vegetables

I found this recipe on the Williams Sonoma blog. I thought, “what a great way of taking advantage of the summer’s great bounty in an everyday supper”! Who doesn’t like penne, mozzarella cheese and veggies baked until its melty and yummy? I decided to change the recipe from zucchini to peppers as some others did, and it came out great! It would really be great with just about any veggie combination. I definitely think fresh summer tomatoes are better as they are really juicy and will make a much better sauce. If you use the winter type, you can add a small 5.5 oz. can of tomato juice.

Baked Penne with Summer Vegetables

Kosher salt, to taste
1/2 lb. penne
6 Tbs. olive oil, plus more as needed
Kernels cut from 2 ears of corn
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 bell peppers (red, yellow & green), cored and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 Tbs. sliced garlic
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
6 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Preheat an oven to 400ºF.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Generously salt the water, add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold running water. Set aside.

In a 12-inch nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the corn, season with salt and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Set aside.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and warm the remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil. Add the bell peppers, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender and have golden brown spots on them, 5 to7 minutes. Add to the bowl with the corn.

Set the pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, 1 tsp. salt and black pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften and begin to form a sauce, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until the wine has reduced and the sauce is fairly thick, about 3 minutes more.

Add the pasta, tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella and half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano to the bowl with the vegetables and stir to combine. Transfer to the fry pan and sprinkle the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm. Serves 8.

Adapted from Baked Penne with Corn, Zucchini and Basil on the Williams Sonoma blog