Roasted Eggplant And Asparagus Pasta Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
2 eggplant, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
garlic powder, or to taste
1 (1 pound) package whole-wheat penne pasta
extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
1 1/3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, or to taste
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch salt-free seasoning blend
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Place a baking rack in the top of the oven.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Spread asparagus spears and eggplant slices on the baking sheet, and drizzle vegetables with 1/4 cup olive oil; sprinkle with garlic powder.
Roast the asparagus and eggplant in the preheated oven until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool. When cool, roughly chop the vegetables; set aside.
Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Stir in penne and return to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through but is still slightly firm, about 9 minutes. Drain well.
Transfer about 1/4 of the penne at a time into a large salad bowl, drizzling each batch with about 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a 1 teaspoon of Parmesan cheese. Stir between additions.
Stir in roasted asparagus and eggplant, lemon juice, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce until thoroughly combined.
Sprinkle pasta salad with salt-free seasoning and black pepper.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the pasta salad until thoroughly chilled and the flavors have blended, at least 3 hours.