You don’t really have to be a pro Italian chef just to come up with a pasta salad dish that your family and friends won’t be able to quit raving about for days. Even with most basic culinary ability, you are not going to have a hard time cooking up roasted asparagus and tomato penne salad with goat cheese. Sounds delectable? Certainly! Sounds tricky to make? Not!
So get your ingredients and oven ready to come up with this healthy and scrumptious treat that serves about 4 people.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of penne, uncooked
2 cups of baby arugula
12 pieces cherry tomatoes
12 spears of asparagus
1 tablespoon of minced shallots
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of Herbes de Provence, dried
4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, divided
3/8 teaspoon of kosher salt, divided
1/2 cup of goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup of kalamata olives, pitted and halved
PREPARATION
- Cook your penne pasta according to the directions printed on the packaging. Skip adding salt and oil while it’s being cooked to maximize the healthy goodness of this pasta salad treat. Once al dente, drain thoroughly and set aside.
- Get your oven ready for some veggie roasting by having it preheated to 400 °F.
- While waiting for the oven to be prepped, neatly arrange your asparagus and cherry tomatoes on a jelly-roll pan
- Drizzle with a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and another 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Toss your veggies and arrange them neatly once more in a single layer for even cooking.
- Bake your seasoned veggies for about 6 minutes or until the asparagus spears are already crisp. Take the pan out of the oven, remove the asparagus spears only, and stash it back in the oven to bake the cherry tomatoes for another 4 minutes.
- Once both veggies are done, allow them to cool before cutting up the asparagus spears into 1-inch lengths and slicing the cherry tomatoes in half.
- In a small bowl, combine your minced shallots, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and dried Herbes de Provence. Mix them very well using a whisk. While whisking, gradually add your remaining extra-virgin olive oil. Don’t forget to throw in the rest of the kosher salt and black pepper too.
- Place the cooked penne, roasted veggies, kalamata olives and baby arugula in a large serving bowl. Drizzle the dressing you just made and toss. Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese before serving.
