Vegan Pasta Salad à la Ratatouille
When we are invited to a barbecue, we always look forward to the salads. They are supposedly on the fringes of the action but are actually the dishes we end up eating our fill of. There's no question which potato salad we contribute to the barbecue buffet – namely this one, although this one is also very often at the start.
When it comes to pasta salad, on the other hand, we are much more open-minded and have a new favorite every year. Sometimes, it's our pasta salad with pea pesto and honeydew melon, a year later it was the antipasti pasta salad and this year we're bringing our ratatouille pasta salad.
This French vegetable dish is one of our all-time summer favorites because the ingredients are in season and taste more aromatic than ever. It's hearty in a way but not heavy on the stomach. And it always forgives us and you if not all vegetables are in stock and you have to improvise a little. All in all, it is a welcome culinary guest and, therefore, the perfect match for a pasta salad.
The preparation of the pasta salad ratatouille is similar to the actual procedure if you cook it on its own. The only difference is that we cut the vegetables much smaller today, which shortens the cooking time slightly. But above all, it went perfectly with the small noodles I had picked for this salad. And as I said before, if you don't like a vegetable or have forgotten it when shopping, don't worry. Leave it out, use a little more of the others and adapt the salad to your taste.
To ensure that the pasta salad really stands out on the barbecue buffet, a few toppings are a must: vegan feta for a salty creaminess, roasted pine nuts for a little crunch, lemon zest for freshness AND homemade basil oil.
You read that right. Get ready to tell people at the barbecue party how you made this yourself. I discovered it at Hannah Kleeberg from Herrlich Dining on Instagram. She had made a chive oil there, and it looked like a fun little kitchen project - and in the end, it was. Today, we're making the whole thing with basil but sticking to her essential preparation. The oil is the special something in this recipe - but that also means it's special and therefore optional. If you don't have time, you can add fresh basil to your salad. But I recommend you give this little kitchen project a try.
Vegan Pasta Salad à la Ratatouille
Ingredients
For the ratatouille:
- 1 eggplant
- 1 zucchini
- 2 peppers
- 2 red onions
- 250 g (8.75 oz) cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 100 g (3.5 oz) olives
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 0.5 tsp chili flakes
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- salt
- pepper
For the basil oil:
- 30 g (1 oz) fresh basil
- 10 g (0.33 oz) fresh spinach leaves
- 100 ml (0.5 cup) neutral vegetable oil
- salt
Also:
- 300 g (10.5 oz) short pasta
- 150 g (5.5 oz) vegan feta
- 50 g (1.75 oz) toasted pine nuts
- 1 lemon (zest)
Instructions
First, we prepare the herb oil. To do this, blend the fresh basil, spinach, vegetable oil and a pinch of salt in a blender for approximately 5 minutes until you have a smooth mixture. Pour this into a small pan and heat to around 70°C / 160 °F. Then filter through a fine sieve and leave to cool. Then, pour the basil oil into a bottle.
Cook your favorite short pasta in salted water according to the packet instructions until al dente, then drain and set aside to cool.
For the ratatouille, cut the eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and red onion into small cubes. Halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Cut the olives into slightly thicker slices.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan. First, sauté the eggplant, zucchini, and peppers for approximately 10 minutes until they are softer and still have a bite. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and season everything with salt and pepper. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.
Add some more olive oil to the pan and sauté the onions, garlic, dried herbs, and chili flakes for approximately 5 minutes over low heat until the onions are translucent. Then add the cherry tomatoes and olives and fry everything together for 5 minutes.
Mix the cooked pasta with the roasted vegetables in a large bowl. If you have time, leave the salad to stand a little longer. Transfer to a serving dish if desired. Crumble the vegan feta over it and top the salad with the basil oil, toasted pine nuts, lemon zest and chili flakes if desired.
