Pasta with Grilled Veggies

Now that it is summertime, people are out firing up their grills. They are cooking everything from Hot Dogs and burgers to fish, steaks and ribs. Occasionally, we like a little lighter fare. This grilled veggie pasta suits the bill.

For two:

4 oz. Penne pasta, dry

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 zucchini, washed and halved lengthwise
1 yellow squash, washed and halved lengthwise
1 large portobello mushroom, cleaned
1 med. yellow onion, thick slices
4 roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
3/4 cup rich chicken broth
2 tbsp. butter
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
olive oil spray

Fire up your grill and preheat oven to 400. I find the veggies come out best over a charcoal fire. While you are waiting on your fire, put garlic cloves in a fold of aluminum foil with a drizzle of olive oil. Seal tightly and put in oven for about 20 minutes. Get the water going for your pasta.
When your fire is at a medium high heat, spray grill with oil and lightly spray veggies as you put them on, skin sides up. Go back in the kitchen and remove your garlic, if ready, and bring your chicken broth to a simmer. After 10 minutes, turn veggies. Start your pasta. Let the veggies cook another ten minutes. Test them for doneness by poking with a fork or knife. I like then with just a little firmness in the middle and a medium char. Also, not all of the veggies will cook at the same rate so remove as necessary. Melt butter in a saute pan big enough to hold all of the veggies. Start your pasta and mash garlic into hot butter. Add your chicken broth and bring to a slow boil. Meanwhile, peel and slice tomatoes then slice remaining veggies. Add all of your veggies to the butter/broth mix and turn to high. Cook for a couple of minutes then toss with drained pasta. Toss with Parmesan, black pepper and salt. If you want to be a little decadent, you could add a couple more tbsp of softened butter at this point. This is a great dish served with some warmed bread and a nice bottle of white wine.