A Fork in the Ratatouille

This weekend the Prince and I had a lovely getaway on the North Fork of Long Island in Mattituck. I decided to cook both nights we stayed there, and the first night I made a light and delicious dish of Ratatouille with pasta, paired with a Simi Chardonnay. It came out well. The only issue was that I halved this recipe and there was still plenty of left over! I suggest halving it, unless you are having a large dinner party.

Ratatouille with Penne (courtesy of epicurious.com)
2 eggplants (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 onions, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
coarse salt to taste
4 yellow squash (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (I used 1 can of plum tomatoes when I halved this, use 2 for this)
7 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 pounds penne rigate (with ridges) (I used cavatappi with ridges)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
Accompaniment: grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 450°F. Stir together eggplants, onions, 1/4 cup oil, and kosher salt in a large roasting pan, then roast mixture in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Stir in squash, bell peppers, 2 tablespoons oil, and more kosher salt and roast mixture, stirring occasionally, until bell peppers are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. While vegetables are roasting, simmer tomatoes, garlic, thyme, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and kosher salt in a heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir tomatoes into roasted vegetables and season ratatouille. Cook penne rigate in a 6-qt. pot of boiling salted water until al dente and drain. While pasta is cooking, stir parsley and basil into ratatouille and season. Toss penne rigate with 1/3 of ratatouille and serve topped with cheese.