Grilled Veggie Pasta Salad
This tasty pasta salad is perfect for your next camping trip! Marinate veggies, cook pasta and make dressing ahead of time, then just grill and assemble at your campsite.
7 (1-cup) servings
Preparation time: 1 hour (including 30 minutes of marinating)
Ingredients
3/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 red bell pepper, cut into 12 (1-inch) strips
12 jicama sticks
1 inch yellow squash, cut into ½-inch diagonal slices
1 inch zucchini, cut into ½-inch diagonal slices
15 asparagus spears, trimmed
½ (16-ounce) package gemelli or penne pasta
For the Creamy Dressing:
½ cup light mayonnaise
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- Combine first five ingredients in large bowl; stir in vegetables and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Bring 4 quarts of water to boil with 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Cook pasta until al dente (10-13 minutes). Drain and rinse.
- To grill: Spray grill rack with nonstick cooking spray. Using direct heat cooking method, arrange vegetables on grill rack 4-5 inches over medium coals. Grill peppers, yellow squash and zucchini 10-12 minutes, turning once; jicama 5-7 minutes, turning once; and asparagus 3 minutes, turning once.
- Cut veggies into bite-size pieces and combine with pasta; toss with Creamy Dressing until well coated. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight.
Creamy Dressing:
Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.