Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables
Photo by: Claudia Alexander
As the summer wanes sweet bell peppers of all colors and sizes, shiny deep purple eggplants, and fragrant bouquets of basil fill the stalls at the farmers' market. This is the time of year I make Ina Garten’s Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad. She brilliantly uses orzo, a rice-sized pasta, similar in size to the roasted vegetables, which soaks up the lemon dressing as it cools. Then she tosses it with fresh herbs, feta, and sliced scallions; every forkful is packed with flavor. This is a colorful salad but most importantly it hits all the cravings—salty, smoky, sweet, and crunchy. Wonderful along with grilled chicken, or perhaps just a green salad.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
1 small eggplant diced into ½” pieces
1 red bell pepper diced into ½” pieces
1 yellow bell pepper diced into ½” pieces
1 medium red onion diced into ½” pieces
2 cloves garlic minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
½ lb. orzo
4 scallions sliced
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
12 oz. feta
Large handful of torn basil leaves and flat leafed parsley
Dressing:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat oven to 400°
To make the dressing, add all three ingredients into a jar with a lid. Give it a vigorous shake and set aside.
2. On a parchment lined baking sheet toss the eggplant, bell peppers, red onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out in a single layer and roast for 35/40 minutes. After 20 minutes flip the vegetables with a spatula to get an even color. Toss into a large bowl. While the oven is cooling down put the pine nuts on a ½ sheet and toast them in the oven for about 3-5 minutes. Pine nuts can burn quickly so keep an eye on them.
3. While the vegetables are roasting, bring a large, covered saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook about 7 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and add to the vegetables. Pour ½ the dressing over the mixture and combine. Set aside and let cool. When room temperature, toss in crumpled feta, scallions, torn basil and parsley, and toasted pine nuts. Serve with the extra dressing on the side.
Adapted from Ina Garten
Photo by: Claudia Alexander