Description
This roasted summer squash pasta salad is loaded with roasted zucchini, shallots, artichokes, and basil, plus a flavorful roasted garlic herbed vinaigrette that packs a little heat. It’s become my new go-to pasta salad!
Ingredients
Scale
Ingredients
- 3 medium summer squashes, halved and sliced (14 oz or 400 g sliced)*
- 2 shallots, sliced (4 oz or 110 g sliced)
- 5-6 cloves garlic (1 oz or 30 g in skin)
- Olive oil and kosher salt
- 10 oz (285 g) fussilotti pasta or similar
- 185 g artichoke hearts, quartered (used a 14 oz jar)
- 16 g whole basil leaves
Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp (38 g) lemon juice
- 3 tbsp (32 g) olive oil
- 1 tbsp (20 g) honey
- 1 ½ tsp Italian herbs
- 1 ½ tsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (start with 1 tsp and adjust as needed)
Instructions
- Prep the zucchini and shallots. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise and then chop it into half moons. For the shallots, peel off the outer skin, slice in half, and then slice across lengthwise to get shallot slices. NOTE: Don’t cut the zucchini or shallots too thin; they lose volume when roasting and will fall apart and char if cut too thin.
- Roast the veggies and aromatics. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Add the zucchini, shallots, and garlic to the prepared pan, drizzle generously with olive oil and kosher salt, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the zucchini starts to brown. NOTE: I don’t like to stir the veggies and aromatics while it roasts; the zucchini tends to break apart a bit if tossed too much. As long as there is enough room in the pan for the veggies and aromatics to roast (not steam), you’re golden.
- Cook the pasta and prep the salad. 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). Add the roasted zucchini and shallots to the bowl of pasta, along with the chopped artichoke hearts and basil leaves. Set aside.
- Make the vinaigrette and toss. Whisk all the marinade ingredients together – smush the garlic against the bowl so it incorporates better in the dressing. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine. Adjust for salt and enjoy.