After the pool party we recently hosted, we had lots of leftover grilled vegetables. Pasta salads are a great way to make use of leftover veggies, so today I prepared some for the family. It was really easy; all I needed to do was boil some pasta and add some salad dressing to it.
This time around I made a spicy salad dressing that I drizzled over fusilli pasta, roasted bell peppers, grilled eggplant, grilled Portobello mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. This meal met everyone’s diet, except for my father-in-law who’s allergic to mushrooms (no meat, not nuts, no eggs), so I placed the grilled mushrooms on the side.
1. Info for Grilled Vegetable Summer Pasta Salad Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 8
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Grilled Vegetable Summer Pasta Salad Recipe
- 1 (16-ounce) package fusilli pasta, cooked and cooled to room temperature
- juice of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon curly parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 2 Portobello mushrooms
- 1 eggplant
- 3 red and green bell peppers
- 4 zucchini
- 2 yellow squash
- 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup maple salad dressing
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco (optional)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
3. Directions:
- Roasting the bell peppers: Cut the stems off the peppers. Wash them, pat dry and brush with oil. Place a grill on your stove and char all the skin of the peppers. Wrap in aluminum foil. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes until you can handle them without discomfort. Clean the peppers using a knife; the skin will come right off. Seed them and cut them into thin long strips. Set aside.
- Prepping the Portobello mushrooms: Using the edge of a spoon, scrape and remove the gills of the mushrooms. Wipe the inside clean using a paper towel (see tips). Drizzle the mushrooms with olive oil. Place the whole mushrooms on a hot grill. Cook until you get grill marks on both sides. Remove from the grill. Once the mushrooms are cool enough to handle, cut into long strips. Set aside.
- For the grilled eggplant, zucchini and squash: Trim the vegetables and cut lengthwise into long slices. Layer a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet (to collect the excess moisture). Place the slices on the rack. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for about 20 minutes. Pat dry using a paper towel. Brush a hot griddle pan with olive oil. Drizzle oil on the slices. Place the slices on the griddle. Cook until you get grill marks (about 3-4 minutes on each side) on medium heat. Remove from the pan. Coarsely cut the grilled veggies into 1 to 1-½” chunks. Set aside.
- Making the spicy pasta salad dressing: In a bowl, combine the maple dressing with Tabasco (if used). Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Place the cooked fusilli pasta with parsley in a large bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice. Add the roasted bell peppers, Portobello mushrooms, grilled veggies and sun-dried tomatoes. Toss well.
- Serve at room temperature with the salad dressing on the side.
- Bon appétit!
