Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad

The perfect picnic food, pasta salad is even better with our heirloom grain pasta. Our recipe calls for peppers, zucchini and asparagus, but you can switch these out for any vegetables that are in season.

This recipe uses our Spelt Garganelle pasta.

DRESSING:

1/3 cup (85ml) lemon juice
1/3 cup (85ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp white sugar
2 garlic cloves , minced
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1/2 tsp each dried basil, parsley, oregano, thyme
1/2 – 1 tsp chili flakes

ROASTED VEGETABLES:

1 red bell pepper cut into 1" pieces
1 yellow bell pepper cut into 1" pieces
1 red onion , cut into wedges
2 zucchini, cut into chunk
7 oz button mushrooms, halved (large ones quartered)
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 2" lengths
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp each salt
1 tsp each pepper
3 cloves garlic , minced

PASTA and FINISHING

2 boxes of any shape Foggy Mountain Pasta will feed a crowd
1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped (or chives)
4 oz feta, crumbled into big chunks

INSTRUCTIONS

DRESSING:

• Place all ingredients into a lidded jar and shake well.
• Set aside while your vegetables are roasting and your pasta is cooking. 

ROASTED VEGETABLES:

• Preheat your oven to 475 for roasting vegetables. Or, use a barbecue-rated roasting pan and cook veggies on your outdoor grill.
• Cut fresh vegetables to size. Place all vegetables except the asparagus into a bowl and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Spread vegetables evenly in a single layer on a roasting pan. You may need to use two trays to avoid bunching them in layers. Add the asparagus last.
• Roast for about 25 minutes, tossing them once.
• Marinate vegetables in half the dressing for 30 minutes.

• Prepare pasta according to package directions.
• Reserve a mug of pasta water. Add 3 tablespoons of pasta water to the reserved half of the dressing. (see above). 
• Keep the remainder of the pasta water on hand to freshen your salad each day that it is stored in the refrigerator.

• Toss marinated roasted vegetables, the reserved half of the dressing, and all the cooked, drained pasta in a large bowl. 
• Top with parsley and feta. Toss.
• Refrigerate one hour or overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Credit: Amanda's husband gets credit for grilling the veggies and chicken for this yummy recipe. Thank you Chris!