Summer Pasta Salad for every BBQ party
In my own opinion, a BBQ party is only as good as the salads you get there. Maybe this is all because of my childhood memories: back then, the grill was kind of reserved for the meat, so I didn't really eat any grilled goods at a BBQ party. Instead, I kept myself busy with the salads, the bread, and the dips. All of them still lie close to my BBQ heart, even though I now grill carrots, vegetables, or vegan meat alternatives.
Besides potato salad a pasta salad is a must-have on your BBQ buffet. Cook some pasta, chop some veggies, and there you are! It's quick and easy done and a proper salad for 6 - 8 people, if you're using one package of pasta. My favorite lazy pasta salad consists of cooked short pasta, chopped seasonal vegetables, arugula, jarred dried tomatoes, and the oil that they swim in.
But today, we'll show you a bit more refined pasta salad that's still easy and done in 30 minutes. Pan-fried vegetables make all the difference here as they add a nice slightly roasted flavor that is combined with a bright, fresh, green basil vinaigrette.
Vegan Summer Pasta Salad with Basil Dressing
Ingredients
- 500 g (18 oz) pasta (e. g. farfalle)
- 2 corncobs
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 cucumber
- 1 red onion
- 10-12 radishes
- 150 g (5.5 oz) olives (pitless)
- 200 g (7 oz) arugula
- 250 g (9 oz) cherry tomatoes
- vegetable oil for frying
For the vinaigrette:
- 20 g (1 oz) basil
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp agave syrup
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil, generously season with salt, and cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl where they can cool down a bit.
While the pasta cooks, prepare the remaining ingredients: cut the grains of the corn from the corncob (it's totally fine if you have bigger chunks instead of the single grains). Finely dice bell pepper, cucumber, and red onion. Quarter radishes and chop olives. Roughly chop the arugula and halve cherry tomatoes.
Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the corn and bell pepper for approx. 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the onion and fry for another 2 minutes, until translucent. Remove the frying pan from heat and add the halved cherry tomatoes, so they soften a bit within all the heat from the veggies and the pan.
Add basil, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, and agave syrup to a liquid measuring cup and use an immersion blender to mix until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, finely chop the basil and mix it with all the other ingredients in a bow. Season the basil dressing with salt and pepper to taste.
For serving, mix cooked pasta, fried vegetables, cucumber, radishes, arugula, and olives in a large serving bowl. Add basil dressing and toss to coat — season with salt and pepper to taste again.
