Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

Guest Chef: Mom

For the last Friday of a vacation week, we were heading to my parents for lunch and relaxing on their patio. A couple days earlier, my mom had called me, very excited about a recipe she saw for a pasta salad in the Toronto Sun. Not wanting to ask why on earth she was reading the Sun, I asked her about the recipe and it sounded great. She prepared it for the Friday lunch.

The salad tasted great. The flavour mostly comes from both roasted and picked vegetables. My mom was especially excited about the recipe because it's very easy to prepare ahead of time. The vegetables can be roasted a day or two in advance and refrigerated, and the rest of the salad comes together quite easily. Mom also switched things up a bit and used roasted garlic (and more garlic than the original recipe stated) and was more liberal with the balsamic vinegar (but she didn't remember how much more liberal).

Although the recipe calls for some parmesean cheese for garnish, I actually think that adding 1/2 cup feta cheese immediately before serving would really do the trick. Not having any feta on hand, we weren't able to try it.

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into thick strips
• 8 stalks asparagus, ends trimmed
• 1 250g package cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• salt
• pepper
• 1 package (500g) rotini pasta
• 1 medium jar (340ml) marinated artichokes, drained and roughly chopped
• 3 roasted red peppers, skinned and cut into strips
• 4 cloves roasted garlic, minced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2-3 basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup feta cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss onion, zucchini, asparagus and mushrooms in olive oil, salt and pepper and transfer to cookie sheets.
3. Grill the vegetables in the oven for 5 minutes, turn and continue grilling for another 5 minutes until tender and crispy
4. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool. Roughly chop vegetables and transfer to a container if preparing in advance. Cook pasta until al dente following the package directions, rinse and drain.
5. When ready to serve, in a large bowl, toss pasta, grilled vegetables, artichokes, roasted peppers, garlic, tomatoes, olives, oil, vinegar, parsley, basil and feta cheese and serve.

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Balsamic Vinaigrette

Several years ago, when I was living on my own, I frequently ate what I called "kitchen sink salads." It was my entire meal. I'd buy some nice bagged lettuce or spinach (I'd refer to it as "garden weeds"), use either grilled chicken or hard-boiled egg for protein, and add whatever else I had around. That usually meant tomatoes, some sweet onion, hearts of palm, feta, and olives. I frequently made my own dressing as well because I've never been fond of store-bought vinaigrette.

This salad was one of the first things I made for Meredith. When we moved in together, I practically wasn't allowed to buy salad dressing - I had to make it myself. I think the only recent exception to that is the occasional bottle of Caesar dressing.

Recently, when a friend visited, I was asked what ever happened to the balsamic vinaigrette I used to make. I realized that I hadn't made it in some time and frequently make other less complex (and less tasty) dressings (and salads, for that matter). I decided it was time to give the kitchen sink salad another whirl.

Balsamic Vinaigrette (for a kitchen-sink salad)

• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp mustard (dijon or hot)
• 1-2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• dash salt

1. Add all ingredients to a small jar and mix with a fork until combined.

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Balsamic Mustard

• ¼ cup yellow mustard seeds
• ¼ cup brown mustard seeds
• ½ cup water
• ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp golden yellow sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced

1. Grind seeds in a spice grinder or blender until mostly powdered (you still want some seedy bits).
2. Add all ingredients to a jar, stir, and let sit unrefrigerated for 3-4 hours.
3. Put mixture into a food-processor or blender and mix until smooth.
4. Put mixture in a glass jar and refrigerate.
5. Wait 2-3 days before serving.

from http://www.food.com/recipe/balsamic-mustard-386563

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