Ingredients
Roasted Veggies
- 1 medium eggplant, lengthwise sliced into ½"/1cm pieces
- 2 small zucchini
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
Dressing
- 1 small shallot, 1 cut in half lengthwise then thinly sliced into half moons
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sherry vinegar, 2
- 1 tsp herbs de Provence, or Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or more to taste
- 1 lemon, juice and zest of
Remaining Salad Ingredients
- 454 g dry fuselli, or rotini
- ¼ cup pine nuts, 3
- ½ cup feta, 4 crumbled
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
Equipment
Method
Roast Eggplant and Zucchini
- 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.
If you want to use the grill: preheat a BBQ over medium-high. Lightly drizzle the sliced eggplant and 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.
Cook Pasta and Make Dressing
- 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.
Assembling the Pasta Salad
- 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.