I may have finally found my ultimate pasta salad. And if you are looking for a Meatless Monday vegetarian recipe, this is definitely one to add to the menu. I will never turn my back on two other favorites, one with salmon, tomatoes and an herb dressing and the other with chicken, plums and cumin dressing. But this new version has everything I want in a pasta salad - smoky roasted vegetables (eggplant, zucchini and peppers), briny kalamata olive, salty feta cheese and fresh strips of basil.
The dressing is nothing more than olive oil and lemon. Because the dressing is so simple, it's important to use high-quality extra-virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Great ingredients go a long way in producing memorable dishes.
If you are planning to make this salad ahead of time for a barbecue or picnic, slice and add the basil just before serving to prevent any discoloration of the basil.
The recipe:
Lay the eggplant and zucchini slices and a large piece of paper towel. Sprinkle both sides of slices with kosher salt and, using your hands, gently press the salt into the eggplant and zucchini.
Gently press another piece of paper towel over top of the vegetables slices, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This will help to draw some of the bitterness and extra liquid out of the eggplant and zucchini.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Rinse the salt off of the eggplant and zucchini slices, and pat dry with paper towel.
Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Lay the eggplant and zucchini on the foil and brush both sides of the slices with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Roast the eggplant and zucchini until they are tender, about 20 minutes. Cut the eggplant slices into quarters and the zucchini slices in half. Set aside.
Cook the pasta according to pasta directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss the pasta with the lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil and pepper.
Add the eggplant, zucchini, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, feta cheese and basil to the pasta. Stir to combine. Serve, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Other recipes with eggplant:
Cookin' Canuck's Grilled Zucchini & Eggplant Parmesan Recipe {Vegetarian}
Cookin' Canuck's Roasted Eggplant Recipe with Almond Butter Coconut Sauce
Smitten Kitchen's Baked Orzo with Eggplant & Mozzarella
Appetite for China's Sichuan Eggplant
Avocado Pesto's Lao Eggplant Dip
Printable Recipe
Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant cut into ¼-inch slices
- 1 zucchini cut into ¼-inch slices
- salt for vegetable preparation
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for the vegetables
- 1 13 ounce box whole wheat penne pasta
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons high-quality extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 roasted red bell peppers 4 halves, thinly sliced
- â…“ cup quartered kalamata olives pitted
- â…“ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 6 basil leaves thinly sliced
Instructions
- Lay the eggplant and zucchini slices and a large piece of paper towel. Sprinkle both sides of slices with kosher salt and, using your hands, gently press the salt into the eggplant and zucchini.
- Gently press another piece of paper towel over top of the vegetables slices, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This will help to draw some of the bitterness and extra liquid out of the eggplant and zucchini.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Rinse the salt off of the eggplant and zucchini slices, and pat dry with paper towel.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Lay the eggplant and zucchini on the foil and brush both sides of the slices with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Roast the eggplant and zucchini until they are tender, about 20 minutes. Cut the eggplant slices into quarters and the zucchini slices in half. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta according to pasta directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss the pasta with the lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil and pepper.
- Add the eggplant, zucchini, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, feta cheese and basil to the pasta. Stir to combine. Serve, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
carrian
Love the roasted veggies!
addie | culicurious
Yum, this looks so tasty, Dara. I love roasted veggies. This recipe will come in handy when the zucchini is coming out of our ears this summer 😉
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
Mmm this looks so good!
shelly (cookies and cups)
I love roasted veggie sin pasta...I could eat this all day long!
Cassie | Bake Your Day
Roasted veggies and pasta is such a great meal. I love this!
Ali | Gimme Some Oven
This looks incredible! Love all of those veggies!!
bridget {bake at 350}
Dara....this looks SO good! Actually, it's 8:03am and I thinking I'd like a big bowl of this NOW!!! 😉 Maybe after a run?
Tieghan
Roasted veggies are my favorite and so is feta cheese! This salad is a must try! Yum!
Miriam @ overtimecook
Such a delicious looking salad! I made a similar salad with grilled chicken recently, but I'm loving this feta version!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
This is so right up my alley!! I make a similar version with grilled veggies - can't wait to break it out soon!