The Recipe: Partially inspired by a friend's recent birthday picnic dinner, I found this recipe online.
How it Went: Husband even liked this! I call that success!
What You Need:
1 box penne pasta
Chopped vegetables, about 6 - 7 cups total
(Good blend: 1/2 C mushrooms, 1 medium zucchini, 1 medium yellow squash, 1 green bell pepper, 3 large carrots (peeled), 1 small head broccoli, 1 red onion)
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 T basil
1/2 T chives
1/2 T parsley
grated parmesan cheese (the kind in the shakey bottle)
Your Turn:
Boil water, and cook 1 box of penne.
Chop the vegetables into fork-able pieces, not too little and not too huge.
If you're using carrots, they will need a little extra time, so put them in a 9x13 baking dish and toss with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Broil them for for about 10 minutes under the broiler.
Add the remaining vegetables and toss with more olive oil, salt, and pepper. Broil about 12 minutes, then stir, and broil another 10 minutes.
While the vegetables are broiling, make your vinaigrette.
Whisk together:
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 T basil
1/2 T chives
1/2 T parsley
When the vegetables are done, scoop them out of the baking dish with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl. Alternate veggies, cooked penne, and vinaigrette in the bowl until all is transferred. Sprinkle in some parmesan cheese. Then toss gently to combine.
Enjoy alone, or with other summer favorites like grilled chicken and corn on the cob!
Note: I liked the broccoli best in this mixture. It also held up best when re-heated as leftovers. The zucchini was not as good when re-heated, so if you expect to have a lot of leftovers of this meal, you might want to go light on the zucchini and squash.
