Pasta Salad with Veggies and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
1 lb (500 g) short pasta such as rotini, cooked in generously salted water, drained and rinsed with cold water
½ cup (125 mL) olive oil
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 bunch of asparagus, sliced into 2-inch pieces, discard woody ends
1 bunch green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces then sliced vertically
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh basil, roughly chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) goat cheese, crumbled
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Chili flakes to taste
Directions
Cook pasta in generously salted water, drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to large serving bowl.
Add 2 tbsp olive oil to a large hot skillet on medium high heat, sauté zucchini and asparagus for just a couple moments. You want the asparagus to be bright green and zucchini just softened and browned on the edges. Season with salt and pepper then remove from pan and add zucchini and asparagus to pasta.
Add 1/2 cup olive oil into pan with scallions and garlic, sauté just a couple minutes until garlic is fragrant and toss the flavoured oil with aromatics into the pasta. Add the zest of a lemon plus the juice, roughly chopped basil and chili flakes. Adjust to your heat preference. Top with goat cheese and garnish with extra basil, chili flakes, and lemon zest.