Lemon Zucchini and Eggplant Pasta Salad
This Lemon Zucchini and Eggplant Pasta salad is an incredible way to highlight the flavours of summer. Bursting with flavour from the lemon and fresh herbs, complementing the rich savoury bits of eggplant and zucchini. It’s delicious cold or hot, plus tastes even better after sitting in the fridge for a day or two (if it lasts that long).
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
This recipe was inspired by/adapted from Love and Lemons’ Lemon Zucchini Orzo. I was frantically looking for zucchini and eggplant recipes this past summer because I had an over-abundance of both. This was the answer to my prayers!
Every summer I am absolutely drowning in fresh produce and always looking for new and exciting ways to use up my veggies. Having a garden is truly such a joy, because not only am I able to grow a ton of food for (almost) free, but I get to enjoy vegetables by how they are supposed to taste. If you don’t have a garden, support a local farm and buy direct. Their produce is going to taste 100x better than anything you can get at a regular grocery store – plus they’re likely way fresher and subsequently more nutrient dense12.
Anyways.. back to the recipe. It’s full of bright fresh flavours from the lemon and fresh herbs, making this a real treat in summertime. I just love it. Serve it alongside some roast chicken, pork tenderloin, or a nice steak. Toss in some chickpeas for a vegetarian meal packed with protein and fiber.
Fresh and Affordable Substitutions
I recognize that we all are in a bit of a global food crisis with rising cost of food and affordability, so some of these ingredients might not be in your cupboard or something you’re willing to buy for just one recipe (pine nuts, sherry vinegar, etc). Here are a few substitutions to make this recipe more affordable and accessible:
- Shallots – substitute with a sweet or white onion. If you don’t mind the punch, you can use a red onion instead.
- Sherry vinegar – this is an expensive ingredient but really worth it if you have a couple recipes in your rotation that use it. The flavour is unique, but luckily you can substitute a few other vinegars and have something similar: red wine or white wine vinegar are great options. If you got around to making chive vinegar this spring, try using that (just reduce the recipe by 1 garlic clove or use half of the onion called for)
- Herbes de Provence – a unique spice blend that likely very few people have in their cupboard. I made some a couple summers ago (I should probably replace it), but I would never buy it personally. Italian seasoning is a great substitute.
- Pine nuts – the most expensive nuts in the world! You can usually buy these in small volumes, but are much cheaper in bulk. I bought a Costco bag to split with a friend, then made pesto with most of it – leaving a small amount for recipes like this. It can be substituted with sunflower seeds or even slivered almonds. Honestly, you could even skip the nuts/seeds altogether.
- Feta – I personally always have feta in the fridge, but if you don’t, you could omit it altogether or try adding another crumbly salty cheese of your choosing.
- Fresh herbs – not 100% necessary but great if you have them! You can subsitute with dried.
Tips for Success
- Use well salted water to cook pasta – this is an always rule/tip. The pasta will pull salt out of the water, seasoning them before you even add them to the dressing. Not only that, but the salt strengthens the gluten – allowing for a firmer al dente texture and reducing stickiness.
- Cook to al dente – you want the pasta to be cooked, but still have some bite to it, as it will continue softening as it sits in the dressing and cools.
- Toss warm pasta in the dressing – this ensures the flavour of the dressing is has time to absorb into the al dente pasta. Warming up the spices will also enhance flavour and heat will soften the onions.
- Salt and rinse your eggplant – the salt helps pull out excess water from the eggplant but it’s also saving you from eating a bunch of bitter pieces of eggplant. This depends more on variety, but salting and rinsing guarentees it will be delicious.
- Reserve the herbs and lemon juice for last – if you add fresh herbs and lemon juice to the hot pasta right away, the herbs will wilt, lose their flavour, and may become bitter. The lemon juice will lose its bright acidity and may taste more on the sour side. Wait until the pasta is simply warm rather than hot to add these ingredients.
To Make Lemon Zucchini and Eggplant Pasta Salad
Roast Eggplant and Zucchini
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Slice one medium eggplant into ½”/1cm discs. Lay the sliced eggplant on a plate or sheet pan and salt both sides generously with kosher salt. Let it sit for 10 minutes to pull out moisture, then rinse and wipe the eggplant dry.
If you want to use the grill: preheat a BBQ over medium-high. Lightly drizzle the sliced eggplant and 1 med. zucchini (cut lengthwise in half) with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Grill for 4-5 minutes until tender. Set aside to cool.
Chop both the eggplant and 2 small zucchini into ½”/1cm cubes. To roast, add the cubed veggies to a lightly oiled sheet pan and drizzle with additional oil. Salt and pepper according to taste (I did ½ tsp kosher salt). Roast for 20-30 minutes until tender and lightly browned.
Cook Pasta and Make Dressing
While the veggies cook, bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add 454 g/16 oz fuselli (or rotini) to the pot and cook according to package directions until al dente.
While the pasta cooks, make the dressing. To a large heat-safe bowl add 1 small shallot (halved lengthwise then thinly sliced into half moons), 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp sherry vinegar, 1 tsp herbs de Provence, ¼ tsp fine sea salt, a few cracks of pepper, and the zest of 1 lemon. Stir well and set aside. Reserve the lemon juice.
Drain the cooked pasta and add the hot noodles to the bowl with the dressing and toss well. Set aside.
Assembling the Pasta Salad
Toast ¼ cup pine nuts gently in a small pan over medium-low heat. Once the oils begin to shine and the nuts turn a light golden brown, immediately remove from the heat (and hot pan) and allow them to cool.
Once the pine nuts and veggies have cooled, add them all to the large bowl of pasta and dressing along with the juice of half the lemon (or more to taste), ½ cup crumbled feta and ½ cup chopped fresh parsley and ½ cup chopped fresh basil. Stir well to distribute all the seasonings and ingredients and taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Serve warm immediately or refrigerate and serve cold. Either way, it’s delicious! Enjoy.
More Summer Recipes
Lemon Zucchini & Eggplant Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lay the sliced eggplant on a plate or sheet pan and salt both sides generously with kosher salt. Let it sit for 10 minutes to pull out moisture, then rinse and wipe the eggplant dry.
- Chop both the eggplant and zucchini into ½"/1cm cubes. To roast, add the cubed veggies to a lightly oiled sheet pan and drizzle with oil. Salt and pepper according to taste (I did ½ tsp kosher salt). Roast for 20-30 minutes until tender and lightly browned.
- While the veggies cook, bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente.
- While the pasta cooks, make the dressing. To a large heat-safe bowl add the sliced shallots, garlic, oil, vinegar, herbs de Provence, salt, a few cracks of pepper, and the lemon zest. Stir well and set aside. Reserve the lemon juice.
- Drain the cooked pasta and add the hot noodles to the bowl with the dressing and toss well. Set aside.
- Toast the pine nuts gently in a small pan over medium-low heat. Once the oils begin to shine and the nuts turn a light golden brown, immediately remove from the heat (and hot pan) and allow them to cool.
- Once the pine nuts and veggies have cooled, add them all to the large bowl of pasta and dressing along with half of the reserved lemon juice (or more to taste), crumbled feta and fresh parsley and basil. Stir well to distribute all the seasonings and ingredients and taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Serve warm immediately or refrigerate and serve cold. Either way, it's delicious! Enjoy.
Nutrition
Notes
- Shallot: or substitute an onion. A sweet or white onion would work well for subtle flavour. Use red if you want a bit more punchiness.
- Sherry Vinegar: substitute red or white wine vinegar. Homemade chive vinegar would be delicious here too – but consider removing a garlic clove or halving the onion.
- Pine Nuts: Omit or substitute with toasted slivered almonds or sunflower seeds
- Vegan option: Omit feta or substitute with a crumbly, salty vegan cheese (they make great feta subs now). For more protein, add a cup of cooked chickpeas.