Description
Jammy and charred sweet summer peppers, cherry tomatoes, and shallots with fusillotti pasta and basil, tossed in a roasted garlic herb vinaigrette – aka a classic pasta salad that takes full advantage of summer produce.
Ingredients
Scale
Roasted Veggies
- 3-4 medium sweet peppers (150 g or 4 oz sliced and de-seeded)
- 7 oz (180 g) cherry tomatoes, whole
- 2 medium shallots (4 oz or 110 g sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves, skins on
- Olive oil and Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Other Ingredients
- 8 oz (225 g) dry fusillotti or any similar pasta
- 86 g finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 18 g basil leaves
Roasted Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp (38 g) lemon juice
- 3 tbsp (32 g) olive oil (use oil from sun-dried tomatoes)
- 1 tbsp (20 g) honey
- 1 ½ tsp dried Italian herbs*
- 1 ½ tsp Aleppo pepper or Calabrian chili flakes OR 1 tbsp chopped Calabrian chili in oil
- 1 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (start with 1 tsp and adjust as needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Prep the peppers and aromatics. Slice the peppers off the core and de-seed. For the shallots, peel off the outer skin, slice in half, and then slice across lengthwise to get even slices. Add the peppers, shallots, tomatoes, and garlic cloves to the prepared sheet pan. Generously drizzle with olive oil and salt, and toss to coat. Roast the peppers and aromatics for 22-25 minutes or until the peppers are slightly charred and the cherry tomatoes burst and are slightly charred as well. NOTE: Don’t slice the shallots too thin; they lose volume when roasting and will burn if cut too thin. Additionally, roast the pepper slices skin-side up to allow them to char properly when roasting.
- Cook the pasta. While the peppers and aromatics roast, cook the pasta. Add the pasta to a large pot of water and cook according to package instructions – salt the water to season the pasta from within. I like to overcook the pasta slightly because pasta firms up when it’s cold. Drain and rinse the pasta and dump it into a large mixing bowl. Feel free to toss the pasta with 1-2 tbsp of butter (adds another layer of flavor).
- Assemble. Once the veggies are done roasting, remove the peppers from the pan and slice into thin pieces. Add the sliced roasted peppers to the bowl of pasta, along with the roasted shallots, tomatoes, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and basil.
- Make the dressing. Whisk all the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar or small bowl. Pop the garlic out of the skins and mash against your board to make a paste. Add the garlic to the jar with the vinaigrette and whisk to incorporate. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad along and toss to combine. Adjust for salt and enjoy.