Pasta Salad with Roasted Summer Veg, White Beans, Arugula & Balsamic Dressing

This pasta salad is simple, delicious, and tastes like summer. I love having a batch in the fridge for quick meals. 

What you'll find in this pasta salad!

• whole grain fusilli pasta
• roasted cherry tomatoes
• pan roasted mushrooms & zucchini
• corn
• fresh mint and basil
• garlicky balsamic dressing
• garnish: arugula and a bit of balsamic glaze. 
• I haven't added vegan mozza before, but that would be a worthy addition if you can find a high quality brand in your area. I'm thinking about the aged and cultured mozzarella from Parmela Creamery. I'm making a note to remind myself to try that next time!

Recipe Notes

• The amounts of veg and pasta are somewhat forgiving. One time I had 450 g of pasta, the next time I made it the bag was only 375g. It's ok to have slightly different ratios of things. I always taste at the end. If it needs acidity I'll add a bit more vinegar. If it tastes too bright and acidic I'll drizzle in a bit more olive oil. It might seem like a lot of vinegar compared to olive oil in the dressing recipe, but that is from factoring in the added oil from the roasted vegetables. 
• I wouldn't use a cheap balsamic vinegar. The bottle linked below in the recipe was about 15 dollars and the flavour is exponentially better. It is a bit sweeter than the bottles you can get for half the price.  I never use 100% balsamic vinegar in my dressings either. I like to use a bit of lemon and or red wine vinegar to round out the acidity. So in that sense a bottle of good balsamic can go a long way and is probably worth spending a bit extra on. If not you might want to add some sweetness to the dressing, a bit of maple syrup would be delicious. I like to add a drizzle of balsamic glaze as a garnish sometimes to the salad regardless, so that might be the only extra sweetness it needs.  ​
• I prefer my pasta salad to be at room temperature. Rather than letting it hang out at room temperature, I often just pop a portion in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Just to take the chill off. 

Serving: 4-6 people as a main dish
                8 - 10 as a side dish

Ingredients:

• 375 g whole grain fusilli pasta 
• veg or olive oil for roasted veg
• 600 - 700 g cherry tomatoes
• 400 grams button or cremini mushrooms (or any kind really!)
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 2-3 zucchini (I used 2 large zucchini, more if they are small)
• handful chopped green onion (or thinly sliced red onion) (1/4 - 1/2 cup)
• 1 x 19 oz can white cannellini beans, strained and rinsed
• handful each mint and basil, chopped (1/4 cup of each or more to taste)
• 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar 
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 - 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp sambal oelek 
• juice 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Method:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. (water should be well salted, and don't overcook the pasta, only al-dente will do here!) Cool and refrigerate while you prepare roasted vegetables.
2. Tomatoes: Toss whole cherry tomatoes in veg oil a bit of salt and pepper. Slow roast at 350F for about 30 minutes, giving them a toss here and there. They will be softened and a bit shriveled. When adding them to the pasta, I purposefully burst them. The juicy tomato bits get into the ridges of the fusilli.
3. Corn: Toss frozen corn niblets with just a bit of veg oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 450F for about 10 minutes, or toss around a cast iron pan for a few minutes with a splash of oil until heated through. 
4. Mushrooms: Heat a bit of veg oil in a cast iron pan, add quartered shrooms salt and pepper and sauté until golden brown.
5. Zucchini: Wipe out pan from cooking mushrooms. Cut Zucchini into thick 1/2 inch slices. Heat veg oil in a pan, and add zucchini. Brown on each side. Cool then cut into quarters. (I cook them in thick wedges like this as thinner slices tend to turn too soft quickly. I like them to keep their integrity  (still have a bit of bite to them).
6. Toss the cooked and cooled veg, and drained/rinsed can of  white beans with the pasta.
7. Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, juice from 1 lemon, red wine vinegar, sambal oelek and garlic. Fold into the pasta. 
8. Fold in green or red onion, basil & mint. 
9. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
10. You can adjust the acidity and olive oil at this point, adding a drizzle more oil or vinegar if you think it needs it. The finished pasta salad should taste balanced, but bright and fresh. 
11. Let marinate in the fridge for a few hours.
12. I fold in just a bit of arugula just before serving. Think of it more as a garnish, you don't need a lot. (I wouldn't add it to any pasta salad you weren't planning to eat fairly soon as I think it would wilt and not look fresh and bright)
13. Garnish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze if you'd like.