Roasted Veggie Pasta

This colorful pasta dish is loaded with tender roasted vegetables and tossed together in a light tomato sauce that leaves everything moist and flavorful. It’s a great dish to serve when gathered around the table with friends and family, even those who may not eat the same way. If you’re serving others, feel free to add a small dash of olive oil to their individual dishes just prior to serving, and they’ll never miss a thing!

Tomatoes harness critical micronutrients, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals to support many functions of the liver. Lycopene is a beloved nutrient that the liver admires: the liver uses it to shield itself from cell damage, plus lycopene helps the liver detox red blood cells safely, smoothly, and efficiently. The fruit acids in tomatoes help keep the gallbladder healthy, helping rid sludge from the gallbladder and even reduce gallstone size. If you’re avoiding tomatoes due to trendy nightshade hatred that constantly recirculates over and over again, you’re missing out on keeping your liver healthy and preventing disease.

Onions have antimicrobial sulfur compounds that expel unfriendly pathogens from the liver. Onions have a disinfecting quality for the liver, keeping it from becoming inflamed. They also improve the temperature control or “thermostat” of the liver so it can heat and cool itself properly.

Garlic is one of the world’s oldest medicines and is an incredibly potent spice that can ward off a variety of illnesses and diseases. It has amazingly high levels of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C and B-6 and minerals such as selenium, calcium, and iron. Garlic also contains very strong antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-cancer, and anti-viral properties. 

Roasted Veggie Pasta 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes 
• 1 cup sliced red onion 
• 1 cup diced zucchini 
• 1 cup diced carrot 
• 1 cup diced asparagus 
• 10 garlic cloves, skin on 
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice 
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt 
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 
• 12 ounces gluten-free pasta (see Tips) 
• 4 cups arugula (optional) 
• Additional sea salt, dulse, and/or black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread out the tomatoes, red onion, zucchini, carrot, asparagus, and garlic on two baking trays lined with parchment paper and roast the vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes until tender. 

Peel all the roasted garlic cloves (being careful not to burn your fingers) and place 4 of them in the blender along with 1 cup of the roasted tomatoes, the lemon juice, sea salt, and the optional red pepper flakes. Blend the ingredients until a light, smooth tomato sauce forms. 

Prepare 12 ounces of gluten-free pasta according to the directions on the packaging. Drain the pasta and transfer to a mixing bowl. Toss the pasta in the tomato sauce. There should be just enough sauce to lightly coat the noodles. 

Add the remaining roasted tomatoes, red onion, zucchini, asparagus, and garlic cloves. Toss gently to combine. Serve the pasta over a bed of arugula if desired, and add an optional extra sprinkle of sea salt, dulse, and/or black pepper to taste.

Makes 2 to 4 servings

Tips:

Look for a gluten-free pasta made from rice, quinoa, beans, or lentils. Try to avoid the varieties that contain corn. 

While this pasta is lightly tossed in a small amount of tomato sauce for flavor, if you want a hearty portion of tomato sauce on top of your pasta, try pairing this recipe with the tomato sauce recipe used in the Ratatouille recipe on page 400 of Liver Rescue.

Find out more undiscovered properties of healing foods and how they support the liver, check out my NYT bestselling book, Liver Rescue.

This item posted: 27-Nov-2018