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Marinated Vegetable Pasta Salad

This tasty pasta salad starts with roasted vegetables. A dressing is made with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices. Zucchini, onion, tomatoes and mushrooms are marinated in half of the dressing before being roasted in the oven. Then the vegetables are added to a bowl with cooked pasta. Next the vegetables and pasta are tossed with the remaining dressing. Cubed mozzarella is added before serving.
Course Pasta
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Marinating Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  • 14 oz curly pasta
  • ¼ cup parsley
  • 4 oz feta crumbled into big chunks

Vegetables

  • 2 red peppers
  • 1 red onion cut into wedges
  • 1 eggplant cubed
  • 2 zucchini cubed
  • 7 oz button mushrooms halved
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic minced

Marinade

  • ⅓ cup lemon juice
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp white sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp dried basil
  • ½ tsp dried parsley
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • ½ tsp chili flakes

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the marinade in a small bowl.

Roasted Vegetables

  1. Preheat the oven to 480 F.
  2. Place all the vegetables except the asparagus in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic, toss to coat.
  3. Spread the vegetables onto 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Roast for 25 minutes, tossing once.
  4. Drizzle the asparagus with oil and pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the oven the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Pasta Salad

  1. Transfer the vegetables into a large bowl, pour over ½ of the dressing. Toss then leave to marinade for 30 minutes to 3 hours.
  2. Cook the pasta before package directions but add 2 minutes to the cook time. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain and return to the pot.
  3. Add 3 tbsp pasta water to the remaining dressing.
  4. Add the vegetables, including the juices to the pasta. Add the remaining dressing and parsley, then toss. Set aside 15 minutes to cool slightly.
  5. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Recipe Notes

Add 3 tbsp pasta water to leftovers. Serve leftovers at room temperature. Can also add olives, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. Mozzarella cheese can be substituted for feta cheese.