Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad with Tuscan Herb / Sicilian Lemon Dressing

Roasting vegetables brings out their sweetness and richness. I decided for this batch of pasta salad to roast the veggies before adding to the cooked pasta. Dice your choice of vegetables as close to the same size as possible so that they will roast evenly and look gorgeous in your salad. I used a chopper like this one. It made quick work of the chopping and I had a consistent size for the vegetables.

1 small zucchini, ends trimmed and diced

1/4 cup diced yellow onion

1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

Salt and pepper

2 cups uncooked elbow pasta (cook according to package directions and drain)

4 T. Tuscan Herb Olive Oil (divided)

1 T. Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar

2 t. Tuscan Herb Seasoning (divided)

2 t. Italian seasoning (divided)

1/4 t. dried red pepper flakes

1/4 t. minced garlic

juice of one lemon

2 t. capers, drained

1 small zucchini, ends trimmed and diced

1/4 cup diced yellow onion

1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place zucchini, onion, peppers, tomatoes in a small bowl. Drizzle with one tablespoon of the Tuscan Herb olive oil and season with 1 t. each of the Tuscan Herb Blend and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat the vegetables completely.  Place on a sheet pan and roast for 20 minutes or just until the vegetables begin to brown.

Before roasting....

After roasting...

While vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta and drain.

For the dressing, in a medium bowl, whisk together the Tuscan Herb olive oil and vinegar. Add the remaining seasoning blend, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic, and lemon juice. Whisk to incorporate. Add capers.

Add cooked pasta to large bowl and pour dressing over and toss to coat. When vegetables are cooked, add to the pasta salad and stir to combine. 

Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Serve room temperature or chilled.