Rigatoni Al Forno with roasted asparagus and onions

Delicious baked pasta dish - and pretty easy to make. Don't omit the "Balsamic Drizzle".

A few cooking notes: The initial oven roasting of the onions called for 5 minutes at 375, but it didn't seem long enough. I roasted the onions for 15 minutes before I added the asparagus - to have somewhat crunchy asparagus and soft onions. The top layer seemed somewhat dry - you don't add much liquid. I was worried when I was serving it, but it tasted fine.

The recipe calls for bread crumbs on top. I used panko. The crumbs were supposed to be brown between 10 and 15 minutes, but after 15 minutes, they were still really quite white.

Bites that included the balsamic, pasta, and vegetables were so amazing.

Recipe claims this can be prepared in 30 minutes, with 10 minutes of work. It took me 45 minutes plus additional baking time (so 60 minutes total).

This simple recipe was a delightful surprise. It is roasted onions and asparagus mixed with boiled rigatoni noodles, seasoned with vinegar and topped with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. I also roasted the vegetables for longer, waiting for the Rigatoni to cook. It would be best to really get that water boiling right away. The type of bread crumb was not specified, but Panko bread crumbs worked fine. This is not very filling, but as I saw my teenager in front of the TV, finishing off the rest right out of the pan, I do not think he went to bed hungry. It made up quickly and was great for a simple dinner.