Another fine dish

Now that warmer weather is threatening -- and in Louisiana, summer is the season we all dread -- my thoughts are turning toward lighter, cooler fare. Vegetables are starting to come down in price at the local produce stand and they look fresher and more appealing, with the result that last week I came home with an eggplant, a couple of zucchini, a summer squash, some bell peppers and some grape tomatoes. Mike did vegetable kabobs one night, so I found myself with half an eggplant, a zucchini, and a partial summer squash. At first, I thought of the obvious -- ratatouille -- but that's such a cool-weather dish. And then I remembered this variation on it that I haven't made in years. It's a sort of ratatouille-pasta salad, made with slow-roasted vegetables and cheese tortellini, but you could use any filled pasta or penne or ziti or something similar.

Cut the eggplant, squash and bell peppers into 1-inch cubes. Add a sliced red onion (I used up the white one in the fridge, and it worked fine) and some whole or halved cloves of garlic (if you want). Halve some plum tomatoes or do what I did and toss in the grape tomatoes that are about to go off. I also like to add some good Italian or Greek olives (or both). Toss all in a large bowl with a good balsamic vinaigrette (I made one in the bottom of the bowl with 2/3 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup balsamic, some Dijon mustard, fresh rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, salt, and pepper, but you can use your favorite recipe or store brand; just use enough to coat everything. The only caveat is that it cannot be non-fat. Low-fat, yes, but non-fat, no. There must be some oil so that everything doesn't dry out in the oven). Marinate at room-temp for about 15 minutes.

Scoop the veggies out of the vinaigrette with a slotted spoon into a roasting pan, ideally in a single layer. Leave the vinaigrette in the bowl. Broil or slow-roast until the eggplant is meltingly soft, depending on how much time you have. If the eggplant is done, the other vegetables will be. Stir occasionally as necessary, if there's more than one layer.

Cook and drain the pasta just before the veggies are done -- you want it to be warm when you put it all together.

When the vegetables are done, warm the vinaigrette in the bowl in the microwave (or pour it into a saucepan and heat). Add the pasta and toss; then add the still-hot vegetables and any pan juices.

Serve warm -- not hot, just warmer than room temperature. It really has to be warm or it's pretty revolting (strange but true). Warm leftovers in the microwave.

You could sprinkle with parmesan or feta cheese, add raw baby spinach to the pasta and vegetables, I suppose you could even add cooked frozen spinach. Asparagus would be good, too, roasted with the other vegetables. Just keep that Mediterranean flavor profile in mind.

We'll be eating this again when our tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers start to come on. I'll still be buying the squash -- I have given up trying to fight the squash-vine borer.