This Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad is a triumph of flavor and its beautiful color that will be a hit on your summer table! This is the season when so many fresh summer vegetable are in our grocery store, farmer’s market or your garden . The combination of delicate zucchini, crunchy corn kernels and pungent onions meet the pasta and it is all tossed with a lemon garlic vinaigrette and some salted ricotta. This grilled summer vegetable pasta salad has a burst of smoky flavor given by the veggies, with a touch of saltiness thanks to cheese and the herbs and dressing brings out the fresh taste.
I must confess that as Italian I have not grown up eating corn. The only way we eat corn is to make polenta, but since I moved to the US I started using it and combining more often into recipes. I think its sweet flavor and its crunchy consistency add a kick to this recipe!
Jump to
- Why you will love this recipe
- Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad Ingredients and Substitutions
- How to make Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
- More Delicious Recipes for you
- What to serve with Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
- Storing Suggestions
- Which wine to pair with Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
Why you will love this recipe
-This easy summer pasta salad is charged with nutrients and flavor!
-A great everyday meal that you can transport well to a party, to your office or if you work from home.
-This is a great recipe for summer BBQs. If you do not have an outdoor grill, you can use your broiler. I made it in fact using the broiler function of my oven.
Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad Ingredients and Substitutions
Pasta: for this recipe chose short type pasta. I picked bow-tie as they are very summery to me. Fusilli, rotini or penne would also work. For a more wholesome recipe, pick whole wheat pasta. Gluten-free pasta is an option if you intolerant to gluten.
Zucchini & Squash: they are in full season, full of nutrients and with a delicate flavors this combo brings a lot of color to the dish.
Corn: use fresh corn. It adds a sweet taste to the dish and it’s lovely how it fits so well with the zucchini, onion and pasta!
Red Onion: love them in this recipe not only for their color, but also their sweet pungent taste.
You can also use other summer veggies if you would like such as red bell pepper, or cherry tomatoes. Yellow bell pepper, summer squash and eggplant are also great to swap in or add.
Ricotta Salata: it’s a special kind of ricotta you can find at a specialty store. Sub it with feta cheese, pecorino or parmesan cheese. Goat cheese will be good as well since it has a salty bite, even if it is more creamier. All these variations bring a briny taste to the dish.
Lemon Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Vinaigrette: I wrote a full blog post about how I love making my own dressing. this one is a summer staple as it is so fresh!
Fresh Basil: no recipe is complete without a touch of fresh herbs. Basil is in season throughout the entire summer, so take advantages in all my recipes! Olive oil here adds that fruity lemony flavor.
How to make Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
STEP 1. START BY MAKING THE DRESSING
Put 1/3 cup olive oil (150ml) and 1/8 cup (50ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice in a 16 0z jar, add 2 cloves minced garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Seal the jar, shake and use! You could do the same thing in a food processor. This will yield around 8 servings. You will beed half of it. Save the rest in a jar and use it for other recipes.
STEP 2. BRING A LARGE POT OF WATER TO BOIL Once you get organized with the dressing and started the pasta water, you can focus on the most important part of this recipe: the preparation of the veggies.
STEP 3: PREPARE THE VEGGIES. The veggies should be perfectly grilled and charred to add that smoky taste to the dish.
There are 2 ways of preparing this veggies:
1) If you have a BBQ: Brush the veggies with a bit of olive oil. Grill the entire corn, you will separate the kernel once it is grilled. Slice the zucchini, squash and onions in rounds. Grill until charred. 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
2) If you do not have a bbq, you can broil the veggies in the oven. That is what I did. I cut the zucchini, squash and onions in rounds, then I separate the corn kernel. Finally I placed the veggies in a large salad bowl and tossed them with salt and EVOO. I broiled them at 500F for 10 minutes over a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Loved this way. Easy and quick!
4. COOK THE PASTA AND COOL IT DOWN. Now the water should boil, add salt and when the water return to roaring boil, add the pasta. Cook as per package instructions until al dente. Drain and use a bit of the dressing to toss it. Lay the pasta on a baking tray and let it cool down. DO not rinse the pasta to cool it down, otherwise all the starch of the pasta will go away and will not retain the dressing.
5. ASSEMBLE THE DISH. Once the pasta has cooled down, place it in a large bowl, add the grilled vegetables, the dressing, sprinkle with fresh basil and add some grated salted ricotta cheese. Buon appetito!
More Delicious Recipes for you
ZUCCHINI WITH RAISINS AND PINE NUTS
ZUCCHINI AND YELLOW SQUASH WHOLE WHEAT SPAGHETTI WITH TUNA
TRADITIONAL EGGPLANT PARMESAN (PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE)
What to serve with Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
Serve this summer vegetable pasta recipe as a meatless main dish followed by some side salads such as Italian Little Green Salad or raw zucchini salad. Alternatively you can serve this as a side for a bbq, some breaded chicken or some baked sea bream.
Storing Suggestions
You can store this recipe in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days. It’s great for a light lunch if you have leftover!
Which wine to pair with Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
This dish pairs well with which is a crisp and light white wine such as Vermentino or Pinot Grigio. Both types are delicate enough to pair with the veggie and will not overpower the flavor of the food.
If you try this recipe and you liked it, please leave a star review below! I would be very appreciative of your comments!
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @Italian_kitchen_confessions I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
Ingredients
- ⅔ pound pasta
- 3/4 pound zucchini
- 3/4 pound squash
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 cup onion red
- 4 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp ricotta salted
- 4 tbsp basil fresh
Instructions
STEP 1. START BY MAKING THE DRESSING
- Put 1/3 cup olive oil (150ml) and 1/8 cup (50ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice in a 16 0z jar, add 2 cloves minced garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Seal the jar, shake and use! You could do the same thing in a food processor. This will yield around 8 servings. You will beed half of it. Save the rest in a jar and use it for other recipes.
STEP 2. BRING A LARGE POT OF WATER TO BOIL
- Once you get organized with the dressing and started the pasta water, you can focus on the most important part of this recipe: the preparation of the veggies.
STEP 3: PREPARE THE VEGGIES.
- The veggies should be perfectly grilled and charred to add that smoky taste to the dish.There are 2 ways of preparing this veggies:1) If you have a BBQ: Brush the veggies with a bit of olive oil. Grill the entire corn, you will separate the kernel once it is grilled. Slice the zucchini, squash and onions in rounds. Grill until charred. 10-12 minutes. Set aside.2) If you do not have a bbq, you can broil the veggies in the oven. That is what I did. I cut the zucchini, squash and onions in rounds, then I separate the corn kernel. Finally I placed the veggies in a large salad bowl and tossed them with salt and EVOO. I broiled them at 500 F° for 10 minutes over a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Loved this way. Easy and quick!
4. COOK THE PASTA AND COOL IT DOWN.
- Now the water should boil, add salt and when the water return to roaring boil, add the pasta. Cook as per package instructions until al dente. Drain and use a bit of the dressing to toss it. Lay the pasta on a baking tray and let it cool down. DO not rinse the pasta to cool it down, otherwise all the starch of the pasta will go away and will not retain the dressing.
5. ASSEMBLE THE DISH.
- Once the pasta has cooled down, place it in a large bowl, add the grilled vegetables, the dressing, sprinkle with fresh basil and add some grated salted ricotta cheese. Buon appetito!
Nutrition
Piatto eccezionale per la stagione ed il gustoso sapore