1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Arrange the eggplant, zucchinis, red and green peppers, tomatoes, red onions and whole garlic cloves in a single layer in a large ovenproof dish or roasting pan. Sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil, cayenne pepper, half the chopped garlic and pepper.
2. Roast for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not soft and mushy, and are charred in places. Turn the vegetables once or twice during cooking, and increase the heat slightly if they are not cooking quickly enough.
3. Meanwhile, toast the sunflower seeds. Lightly brush a frying pan with just a few drops of olive oil, then heat the pan. Add the sunflower seeds and toss and turn them for a few minutes until they begin to toast. Add the soy sauce and turn the seeds quickly, letting the soy sauce evaporate as the seeds toast and brown lightly. This should take about 4–5 minutes in total. Remove from the heat just before the seeds are crisp and leave them to cool in the pan. They will become crisper as they cool.
4. Cook the pasta in boiling water for 10–12 minutes, or according to the package instructions, until al dente. Drain well and keep hot.
5. Cut the roasted vegetables into bite-sized chunks. Toss the vegetables and garlic with the remaining raw chopped garlic, the tomato sauce and basil or parsley.
6. Toss the pasta with the roasted vegetables and serve immediately, sprinkled with the toasted sunflower seeds.

Pasta with roasted vegetables variations: Crush a few saffron threads in a mortar and pestle and add them to the roasted vegetables along with the tomato sauce for an added touch. • You could also serve each portion of roasted vegetable pasta topped with a spoonful of low-fat fresh goat cheese instead of toasted sunflower seeds. • Pumpkin seeds can be used instead of sunflower seeds.

preparation time 20 mins
cooking time 45 mins
serves 4

PER SERVING

521 calories
17 g protein
22 g total fat
3 g saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
64 g total carbohydrate
13 g sugars
13 g fibre
128 mg sodium

As well as all the benefits from the excellent mixture of vegetables in this dish, the sunflower seeds provide a useful source of zinc, thiamine and niacin, plus plenty of vitamin E.