We are featuring our next Pick Your Own (PYO) meal, Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad. Craving pasta…but also wanting something summery and fresh? Presenting the long weekend Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad, because it ages like fine wine, feeds a crowd, and you grill the veg on a barbecue which is perfect for keeping your house cool during those hot days.
We made this salad to go with a BBQ meal including steak, halloumi, and tofu, which provided protein, but you could always add protein of your choice directly to the salad. Things like tuna, or chicken would work great!
Please tag us on Instagram (@thamesrivermelons) if you try this recipe!
Look at all the veggies!
Recipe
*Serves 10 - 12
Ingredients
2-3 Thames River Melons zucchini
2-3 cups Thames River Melons grape tomatoes
½ medium Thames River Melons red onion
1 Thames River Melons red bell pepper
2 cups arugula
½ cup capers
½ kalamata olives
200g of dried pasta (we are using penne)
200g of feta
1 tsp salt (for boiling pasta)
For the Dressing
⅓ cup of olive oil
Salt and pepper
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Thames River Melons honey
2 tbsp Thames River Melons garlic scape mustard
1 cup of fresh Thames River Melons herbs (dill, basil, oregano, etc)- please feel free to add more
Prepping the produce!
Instructions
1. Prepare the vegetables, beginning with the zucchini and bell pepper, for grilling. Wash and then cut zucchinis in half lengthwise then half again to get four pieces. Sprinkle salt over the zucchini to help draw excess water out, and set aside.
Cut the red pepper into quarters and set aside.
2. Slice the red onion with the grain and separate, halve the grape tomatoes, and mince fresh herbs. We used dill and basil.
3. Peel, crush and mince 3-4 garlic cloves
4. Dab the zucchini with a paper towel to remove water. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to the zucchini and red pepper, ensuring all is well coated.
5. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to instructions.
6. Place the zucchini and red pepper on the BBQ.
7. Begin to assemble the salad. In a large serving bowl, place grape tomatoes, olives, capers, red onion, arugula, dill, basil, and crumbled feta
8. Make the salad dressing. Combine olive oil, minced garlic, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, honey, salt and pepper and mix
9. Remove the vegetables from the grill.
10. Drain the pasta and set aside to cool slightly.
11. Cut the grilled vegetables into bite sized pieces.
12. Add the pasta, grilled vegetables, and dressing to the serving bowl. Toss and serve.
Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad
Cost
The zucchini weighed 1lb. The bell pepper was 0.35lb. The tomatoes were 0.8lb.
PYO zucchini is $0.50/lb, bell peppers cost $2/lb, and grape tomatoes cost $0.80/lb.
Therefore, the PYO vegetables in this dish cost approximately $2 in total.
Storage
This salad will keep in the fridge for 4 days. If planning to store, we recommend keeping the arugula separate and adding at time of consumption. However, dressing the salad is recommended as the pasta and vegetables can marinate over time.
Waste Less Notes
It is an easy way to incorporate vegetables that may be on their last days of freshness.
Modifications
This recipe may be modified to suit your needs. You can add or subtract vegetables depending on what is in season and what you have on hand.
Recipe developed and photographed by dietetic interns Lise Wolyniuk and Lexie Nobbs and reviewed by Alex Chesney, RD