Marinated Vegetarian Pasta Salad

Just the right amount of heat with 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. I recommend following the recipe using less than a full pound of pasta if you want a more veggie-forward dish. Used shaved parmesan instead of feta. Loved it.

From original site - Make ahead PRO TIP SCOOP OUT a mug of pasta cooking water just before draining. Add 3 tbsp water to reserved Dressing (after marinating veg), shake well. Use this Dressing per above, but reserve 3 tbsp to freshen up pasta salad on Day 2 onwards. Freshen up pasta salad: Bring to room temp or briefly microwave (cold pasta = dry) to warm gently. Toss with Reserved Dressing then serve. Recipe Notes: SERVINGS: Serves 5 to 6 as a meal, or 8 – 10 as a side. 1. Vegetables – feel free to switch up as desired., any roast-able veggies will be great! Also note, it looks like a huge volume uncooked but it shrinks by about 30% once cooked! 25 min roasting – listed veggies, cauliflower, carrots, corn on cob (cut kernels off), parsnip, root veg, pumpkin 15 – 20 min – broccoli, broccolini, fennel, beetroot (cubes), leeks 5 minutes – asparagus, green beans, peas. No cook – olives, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and other pickled/antipasto veg, tomato, cucumbers, leafy greens. 2. Herbs – you want 2 tsp in total, just sub / double up on what you have. Or use a Mixed Herbs or Italian Herbs. 3. Chilli Flakes – aka red pepper flakes. I use 1 tsp because I like the buzz of heat! 4. PRO TIP to keep pasta salads juicy when making ahead (as they tend to dry out the next day) – increase volume of dressing by shaking it up with pasta cooking water. Starch in water emulsifies with fat in dressing = more dressing volume, same amount of flavour = can reserve some dressing = juicier pasta salad. Also, cold pasta is drier. Let it come to room temp or even microwave briefly, the toss with reserved Dressing! 5. Cook pasta until extra soft because pasta firms up when cool. By cooking the pasta beyond al dente, it keeps the pasta softer even when refrigerated. So much more pleasant to eat! 6. Storage – Great fresh, even better on Day 2! I’ve kept this for 4 – 5 days and it still tasted great, I added a squeeze of fresh lemon. Best served at room temperature. 7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 8 serves

I added some sundried tomato pesto to the dressing as well as it was a little bit bland at first. Other than that, great recipe!

Omitted eggplant and added yellow squash instead. Leftovers could benefit from additional marinade/sauce.

Amazing recipe! This will most definitely be a weekly menu item from now on. We used Bonza chickpea pasta for some extra protein and it worked great.

This is the best pasta salad recipe! I cooked asparagus by itself on 1/4 sheet pan. Roasted zucchini doesn’t get mushy! Be sure to reserve pasta water. Might not need it but don’t take chances!