Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad

This colorful pasta salad is packed full of roasted vegetables and makes a flavorful, vegan-friendly, dish for a summer picnic or a casual luncheon. It is best served at room temperature.

Serves 12–14 as a side dish

Ingredients

• 1 pound Rotelle pasta
• 1 small shallot, small dice
• 1 eggplant
• 2 small yellow summer squash
• 1 large zucchini
• ½ red pepper
• ½ orange pepper
• ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes
• ¼ cup oil-cured black olives or kalamata olives pitted
• ½ cup artichoke hearts
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Directions

1 | Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2 | Slice the sun-dried tomatoes into thin strips. Rinse and drain the artichoke hearts and give them a rough chop. Give the olives a rough chop. Combine the artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives in a bowl and set aside.

3 | Trim the skin from the eggplant and cut into 1-inch cubes and spread out onto a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment. Cut the summer squash and zucchini into ½-inch cubes and add to the baking sheet. Chop the red and orange pepper into medium dice and add to the baking sheet. Add the diced shallot.

4 | Sprinkle the vegetables with the kosher salt and drizzle all the olive oil over the top. Shuffle the vegetables in the pan to make sure they all are in oil. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

5 | As the vegetables roast, bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and cover it with a lid to keep it warm.

6 | When the timer for the vegetables goes off, remove the baking sheet from the oven and toss in the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and artichokes. Mix in with a spatula and return to the oven.  Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and continue to roast for another 10–15 minutes.

7 | While still hot, use a silicone spatula to scrape all the vegetables along with the oil into the pot of cooked pasta. Scrape as much oil from the baking sheet as possible. Add in the basil and gently toss the pasta with the vegetables until everything is incorporated in oil. Wait to season with salt until it has cooled to room temperature.

8 | Garnish with a sprinkle of parmesan or crumbled feta before serving.

See Joseph’s tips for creating a late-summer menu and more recipes for summertime gatherings.