roasted vegetable pasta salad

i'm still here!
i just took a little bloggin' break last week.
but i still was busy at the stove errr um fridge?
and i made roasted vegetable pasta salad.
i love pasta salad when it starts to get hot, and if you were in D.C. last week it was beyond hot.
as in, it was about 97 degrees.
in my opinion, there is no reason for it ever to get that hot.

anything above 90 seems plenty hot to me, especially since i don't always have immediate access to a pool.
i do, however, have a husband who blasts air conditioning to the degree that forces me into my grandpa sweater as soon as i get home.
but i digress.

back to pasta salad time.
the great thing about pasta salad is of course it's adaptability.
you can pretty much add anything to cold pasta with a vinaigrette, let the flavors meld and it's dinner.
for years i've been making a pasta salad composed of penne, black olives, cherry tomatoes and feta. and topped with a homemade vinaigrette.

it's good, i know. i've made it over a dozen times.
i don't know about you, but i can only say that for a few actual recipes.
like chocolate chip cookies, chili and toast.
oh and triscuts and cheese, that's cooking right?

anyway, for this pasta salad, i wanted my vegetables to lose their crunch.
to be rotten you say?
well, no, but to be soft in texture, similar to the pasta.
hence roasted vegetables -- i chose what looked good in the 5 minutes I could stand to ponder produce at giant foods.
i ended up with eggplant, squash and mushrooms.

while the vegetables roasted, i made a damn fine viniagrette.
damn fine.
in fact, the inspiration for this vinaigrette came from a herbed pasta salad that consisted of a dressing and pasta.
no veggies, roasted or raw, no cheese, no meat. nothing.
only pasta and herb vinaigrette.
it certainly made me curious of the power of fresh herbs.

the flavorful herb viniagrette lent nicely to the roasted veggies and of course, feta.
i always need more feta in my life.
do you think it's wrong that i keep picking the feta out of the pasta salad when no one is looking?
neither do i.

Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 eggplant

1 yellow squash

1 (8 oz container) sliced mushrooms

1 (4 oz) container feta

1 box barilla plus bow ties

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped basil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 lemon, juice and zest

1.5 tbsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

6 tbsp olive oil

Method:

preheat oven to 350

line a baking sheet with foil

cook pasta according to directions, let cool completely

chop veggies into 1 inch-sized pieces, toss with 1-2 tbsp olive oil and liberal salt and pepper

place veggies on baking sheet in an even layer, cook about 20-25 minutes, stirring at least twice during cook time

remove veggies from oven and let cook

add basil and parsley leaves (remove the stems) to a food processor with lemon juice, garlic, mustard, olive oil and salt and pepper.

blend until smooth or desired consistency, i kept my herbs a bit chunky.

once pasta and veggies are cooled, fix together, add feta and viniagrette. 

add more salt and pepper to taste.

best after it chills in the fridge for a few hours.