Summer Pasta Salad Recipe

Serves:

Ingredients

1 aubergine, cut into 2-cm (¾-inch) chunks
1 courgette, cut into 2-cm (¾-inch) chunks
1 fennel bulb, cut into wedges 1cm (½ inch) thick
3 tablespoons olive oil (for roasting the vegetables), plus extra for drizzling
50g (1¾oz) skin-on hazelnuts
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
400g (14oz) farfalle pasta
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
Small handful of basil leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, plus extra to finish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pickled onion

1 red onion, halved and finely sliced into half-moons
Juice of ½ lemon

To serve

1 ball of mozzarella cheese
Pinch of chilli flakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210°C (190°C fan, 410°F), Gas Mark 6½

2. Put the aubergine, courgette and fennel in a roasting tray and toss with the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 25–30 minutes until everything is soft and golden at the edges.

3. Spread the hazelnuts and fennel seeds out on a baking tray, place in the oven with the veg and roast for 8 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

4. While the veg finishes roasting, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions, then drain and rinse under cold running water until completely cooled. Drain well and add to a bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil to coat.

5. Remove the roasted veg from the oven. Roughly chop the fennel into bite-sized pieces, then toss with the pasta as soon as you can so that it doesn’t stick together.

6. For the pickled onion, place the red onion in a small bowl, squeeze over the lemon juice and add a pinch of salt. Scrunch the onion together with your hands so that it’s coated in the lemon juice and starts to turn bright pink.

7. Toss the herbs, pickled onion, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper into the pasta.

8. Transfer to a serving platter, tear over the mozzarella and crush the fennel-y hazelnuts on top, adding the chilli flakes and a final drizzle of extra virgin oilve oil to finish.

Extracted from Sprout and Co Saladology: Fresh ideas for delicious salads by Theo Kirwan. Published by Mitchell Beazley. Photography: Matt Russell.

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