This pasta salad is a family favorite. I would usually use arugula instead of the basil, but it's not in season right now, so it's super expensive. The fresh, organic basil was a special offer today! Hooray!
Ingredients:
- 2 large zucchinis
- 300g of Hello Kitty pasta (the salad gets exponentionally better with Hello Kitty pasta, but regular pasta works, too)
- one glass of dried tomatoes (225g drain weight)
- 5 fresh tomatoes
- lots of fresh basil (I used as much as you can see on the picture - the whole thing!)
- 3 tablespoons vegan honey (agave sirup works, too)
- 60g (7-8 tablespoons) olive oil
- some extra olive oil for frying
- 60g (7-8 tablespoons) balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons mustard
- salt
- pepper
Instructions:
Cook the Hello Kitty pasta in lightly salted water until it's al dente.
- While your pasta is cooking you can cut the zucchini in small chunks. I usually cut slices of 4cm (1 1/2 in) and then cut them in six to eight parts.
- Briefly fry the zucchini in a bit of olive oil. Salt lightly.
- Cut up the basil coarsely.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and put the pasta in a bowl.
- Add basil and fried zucchini.
- Drain the dried tomatoes. Keep some of the oil for the sauce. If you prefer the sauce to be made of olive oil only, don't keep the oil. (Dried tomatoes are usually in sunflower seed oil, because it's cheaper than olive oil.)
- Slice the tomatoes and remove the seeds.
- Cut the tomatoes into small chunks.
- Add the dried and freh tomatoes to the bowl.
- Mix everything.
- Mix the oil, mustard, vinegar, and vegan honey (or agave syrup).
- Blend a little until everything becomes a nice and smooth sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the salad. Mix well.
- Serve with other awesome food, such as the Mediterranean lentil balls. Omnomnom!
This salad is great for picnics, bentos, work lunches, and party buffets. It's also a lovely addition to any barbecue party!
