Pasta Salad!

January 23rd, 2006 by owenam

Something I’ve been meaning to make for a long time: pasta salad. While reading the newspaper at work I came across a recipe that looked tasty, so I wrote down the basics, stuck it in my pocket, and forgot about it.

A few days later, I deciphered my scribblings into this:

Roasted Pasta Salad

  • 2 medium heads broccoli
  • 2 large red bell peppers
  • ~20 kalamata olives, pitted & quartered
  • 1 lb penne pasta
  • 2-3 Tbs olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Cut broccoli florets into bite-size pieces. Don’t discard the stalks. Peel the stalks enough to remove the tough outer part, then chop what’s left into bite-size pieces.
  3. Cut peppers into sticks.
  4. Combine broccoli & peppers in a casserole dish (or two, to brown them more) and toss with olive oil to coat. Season with salt & pepper.
  5. Roast the broccoli & peppers in the oven until the peppers start to wrinkle and broccoli tops begin to brown, roughly 30 minutes.
  6. While vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta, drain it, and rinse under cold water until cool.
  7. When vegetables are done, remove from oven, let them cool a bit, and then toss with pasta. Add olives, dressing & serve. Makes 8-10 servings.

 

Roasted Garlic Dressing

  • ~10 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp + 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs lemon juice
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Peel garlic and cut off tough rooty part at end.
  3. Slice each clove in half lengthwise and remove green shoot from the center of both halves.
  4. Place garlic in a small baking dish and toss with 1 tsp olive oil to coat.
  5. Roast garlic in oven until very soft.
  6. Transfer garlic to small bowl and mash to make a paste. Add a small amount of lemon juice and whisk until combined.
  7. Add remaining ingredients slowly, whisking constantly.
  8. Makes about enough for 1 lb pasta salad.

Posted in Food | 2 Comments »