Chargrilled vegetable & orecchiette salad with fresh pesto and rocket
Cutting the courgette and aubergine lengthways gives you lots of surface area to get nice and charred, with fewer pieces to turn on the grill, says Elly Curshen
Serves4
CourseLunch
Prepare15 mins
Cook25 mins
Total time40 mins
Ingredients
250g No.1 Orecchiette (or any short pasta – fusilli bucati, trofie etc)
145g tub green pesto with basil
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tbsp dried thyme
1 red pepper, deseeded and quartered
1 large courgette, quartered lengthways
1 aubergine, quartered lengthways
1 red onion, quartered, each wedge still attached at the root
Large handful rocket or baby spinach
1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated zest
4 tbsp pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, to serve (optional)
Method
Cook the pasta according to pack instructions. Drain, toss with the pesto and 1 tbsp oil, then set aside to cool. Cover and chill until needed.
Preheat the barbecue or griddle. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tbsp oil and dried herbs. Season. Put the vegetables in a roasting tin and pour over the herb mixture. Toss the vegetables to coat everything evenly.
Chargrill the vegetables, in batches if necessary, until marked and charred on all sides, about 10-15 minutes. Ensure you cook the courgette well, to avoid a watery salad.
Cut the grilled courgette, aubergine and pepper into bitesized chunks. Pull the ‘petals’ of red onion apart. Fold the vegetables gently through the pasta. When ready to serve, stir
in the rocket or spinach.
Place the salad on a serving platter and finely grate over the lemon zest. Season with sea salt flakes and black pepper, then scatter with the pine nuts and Parmigiano Reggiano, if using. Serve immediately.
Cook’s tip
You can make this salad with a jar of pesto rather than a tub of fresh if you like, but if you do this you will need the Parmesan on top, to serve. Try griddling the vegetables for 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally, if you don’t want to heat up the barbecue.
