Pick Your Own Meal Series: Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

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

Vegetable Pesto Gnocchi

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups leeks, sliced

1 pepper, sliced

1 tbsp garlic, minced

2 handfuls fresh spinach

700g gnocchi

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup pesto

1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Salt

Pepper

Instructions

  1. Follow cooking instructions for gnocchi and set aside

  2. If wanting to add a choice of protein such as chicken, shrimp, lentils, etc make now and set aside with gnocchi.

  3. In a medium sauce pan add cream and pesto and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Once boiling bring heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes, occasionally stirring the mixture. During this time the vegetables can be started in the following step.

  4. In a medium frying pan add olive oil, then add broccoli and peppers. Sauté on medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Then add chopped leeks and sauté for another 5 minutes.

  5. Add garlic to pan and sauté for 1 minute before adding in fresh spinach. Continue stirring mixture around until spinach is cooked.

  6. Going back to the sauce, after 10 minutes stir in 1 cup of parmesan and then let simmer another 5 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken. Sauce should be able to coat the back of a spoon when finished.

  7. Once sauce is done add to pan with vegetables. At this time also add gnocchi and choice of protein to the pan. Top with a bit of parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Recipe Developed and photographed by Dietetic intern Rae Wilcox.

 

Vegetable Personal Pizza

Ingredients

1 whole wheat naan bread

1/4 cup pizza sauce

1/3 cup cheese

1/2 cup diced vegetables (we used sweet peppers, zucchini, and garlic scapes for this one!)

6 pepperoni slices (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Spread the pizza sauce over the naan bread.

  3. Add the cheese on top.

  4. Place the pepperoni slices and vegetables on the naan bread.

  5. Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted.

  6. This recipe makes one serving, but feel free to make several personal pizzas for your whole family!

This recipe was developed and photographed by dietetic internship student Amy Campbell.