I’m in love with this Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad. Truly, madly, deeply. Just kidding. But seriously, if you love roasted vegetables, pesto or goat cheese – or all three of these combined, you need to make this salad. I ate some for lunch, then a little more as an afternoon snack… then I served up the remaining salad for dinner. Hot or cold, it was delicious.
My original idea was to serve this Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad chilled, or at least at room temperature. To be honest, this salad could also be served hot as a main course for dinner. The goat cheese gets all melty and coats what ever it’s touching. I loved using the rotini pasta because it holds onto the pesto sauce so well. Each bite was like a burst of pesto flavor – add in all the other goodness, and this meal is golden!
I recently came back from a trip from Toronto and made a little detour to Barrie Hill Farms. They had a market set up where you could purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m always a sucker for farmers markets and walked away with some delightful goodies. Asparagus are currently in season so those automatically made it into my basket. Asparagus must be the vegetable of the week as they are making it into all my dishes. Especially ones like my prosciutto wrapped asparagus. Holy yum!!
I also walked away with some gorgeous heirloom tiny tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, red onions and apples. Everything was locally grown in Ontario (which I loved) and they were beyond fresh. The beefsteak tomatoes actually tasted like tomatoes instead of the tasteless tomatoes I’ve been forcing my family to eat for the past few months. You know what I mean – the out of season variety. These tomatoes were so good I could have eaten it like an apple!
This easy salad recipe can be easily adapted for your own personal preferences. Next time I make this Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad, I’m going to use Parmesan cheese instead of goat cheese. The roasted vegetables could certainly be switched up as well. Other choices could include eggplant, snow peas, carrots, beans, or even butternut squash. So good!
Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- ½ lb asparagus
- 1 red pepper
- ½ red onion
- 1 small zucchini
- 2 cups tiny tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- 1 lb dried rotini pasta , cooked
- ¾ cup pesto sauce (or one 218 ml jar)
- 150 g goat cheese , crumbled
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
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Wash and trim the asparagus and cut into bite size pieces. Wash and cut the red pepper, onion and zucchini into bite size pieces. Wash the tomatoes.
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Spread the prepared vegetables on the cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes. The asparagus should be tender crisp and the tomatoes just about ready to burst.
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While your vegetables are roasting, bring a large pot to a rolling boil and prepare your pasta as per directions on the box.
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When pasta is el dente, drain the pasta and return it to your cooking pot. Add your pesto sauce to the hot pasta and stir until well coated.
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Stir the cooked vegetables into the pasta then transfer to a serving dish. Crumble the goat cheese overtop of the pasta and serve. Can be served hot or at room temperature.
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Okay, I’ll take the entire bowl of this stuff. Seriously, I cannot get enough of those roasted veggies and delicious, light dressing. Perfect for the next picnic!
Oh, once you start, you won’t be able to stop!! Hope you enjoy it!
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