Refreshing Vegan Pasta Salad - Healthy, Vibrant and so easy
This one is pretty great.
Ingredients
- 300 grams/ 3 cups pasta (fusilli/penne)
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes (or 3 regular ones)
- 1 squeezed lemon
- 5-6 cloves garlic (more if you love it)
- 1 medium onion (red is best)
- 10-15 olives (halved)
- 3-4 mushrooms (sliced)
- ½ green/yellow/red pepper (chopped)
- 1-2 handful fresh herbs
Instructions
- Toss the noodles into a pot of salted boiling water and cook them according to the package instructions.
- Slice the garlic cloves lengthwise. Chop the pepper and onion, and slice the cherry tomatoes in half. If using regular tomatoes, cut them into cubes. Chop your fresh herbs and slice the mushrooms as well.
- Put the halved garlic slices in a small pot with two tablespoons of olive oil. Heat the pot on medium to high heat and carefully roast the garlic until browned on both sides, about four to five minutes. Afterward, remove the garlic from the pot and set it aside.
- In a mortar or blender, mix the chopped herbs, roasted garlic, salt, peppercorns, four tablespoons of olive oil, and lemon juice. Grind them up or blend until smooth. If you have neither, finely chop all the ingredients and mix them together in a bowl. You should end up with a very aromatic and delicious paste.
- In the pot where you roasted the garlic earlier, add the pepper and onion. Roast them on high heat for another 5 minutes until they get a little color as well.
- Mix all the remaining ingredients, including the pasta and pesto marinade, in a large bowl. If your pasta is still very hot, rinse it with cold water before adding it to the bowl. Mix everything well and adjust the taste with vinegar and salt as needed. Enjoy!
