I anxiously await summer all year round - I love the sunshine, hot weather, lazy pool days, drippy ice cream cones, homemade popsicles and fresh produce. We love to hit up the farmers market and see what fun treasures we can bring home. There is nothing better than in season, roasted or grilled veggies for dinner all summer long.
We took a visit to the farmers market today and I came home with a craving for a light, summery pasta salad chock full of roasted veggies and topped with fresh basil from my little herb garden.
There were a few inspirational recipes on Pinterest, but this is something I just threw together using what we had on hand. It's a pretty forgiving little recipe, so feel freak to tweak away as I did!
Here's what you'll need:
- 1 lb whole wheat rotini noodles
- 1 summer squash
- 1 zucchini
- 1 cup of sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 1 large head of broccoli, stems chopped off
- 1 tomato, diced
- olive oil
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- dressing of your choice (I threw together a homemade vinaigrette)
- fresh basil
- parmesan cheese
(My go to balsamic vinaigrette can be found HERE)
Boil your pasta, according to directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice squash and zucchini, and coat with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. Spread in single layer on cookie sheet. These will bake for about 10-15 minutes.
Throw broccoli and mushrooms in a bowl and coat with olive oil, salt & pepper. These will roast for about 20 minutes or so.
(Keep an eye on veggies while roasting - I find that the amount of time depends on the oven I'm using and the thickness of the veggies. You want them to be fork tender)
Toss cooled veggies and diced tomatoes with pasta, add dressing, fresh basil to taste and top with parmesan cheese. Serve room temperature or cold from the fridge!
YUM.
How can you go wrong with pasta salad during the spring and summer months? What's your favorite type of pasta salad?
