This is my absolute favourite salad of all time. It is very simple to make and is also quite healthy compared to some of its mayonnaise -  based counterparts. This is an ideal salad to have ready in advance for a special occasion or as an accompaniment to a summer barbecue.

Ingredients

• 12oz/350g penne pasta
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 courgette
• 1 box cherry tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 tablespoons of basil pesto
• 1oz/25g grated parmesan cheese
• 1oz/25g stoned black olives

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add a little drizzle of olive oil which will stop the pasta from sticking.
• Plunge the pasta into the boiling water and boil according to the packet instructions.
• When the pasta is cooked strain into a large colander and leave it under cold running water until the pasta has completely cooled down. Retain it until required.
• Meanwhile cut the vegetables into even sized bite size portions and spread out on a baking tray.
• Season with a little salt and pepper, drizzle with a little oil and place in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes or until all of the vegetables have softened completely.
• Allow the vegetables to cool.
• Mix the roasted vegetables and the chilled pasta together.
• Mix in some seasoning and the basil pesto and stir until the pesto has completely coated all of the vegetables.
• Arrange in a large serving bowl and scatter with the grated parmesan cheese and the black olives. Garnish with a sprig of fresh basil or as required.

Tags: family occasion recipes, healthy eating, Kevin Dundon, salad

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 5th, 2009 at 8:03 am and is filed under Consumer friendly chef, Family Spending. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.