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Do you ever wish you could be a mouse in someone else's house? You probably would have been a laughing mouse had you been there, peeping out of your little mouse hole (nibbling, on a few spheres of tender pearl pasta that had inadvertently rolled your way) and watching Scott and I as we sat down to enjoy this Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable and Pearl Pasta Salad. We'd just finished photographing it and were starving. Well, maybe it's better to say that I was starving. Scott said the blessing and I immediately began devouring. He was distracted by something on his computer (yes, we were having lunch on the couch).
I'm savoring each bite. "Oh, my Goodness!" "Wow!" He's still looking at the computer. "This is amazing!" "I love it!" His brow is wrinkled a bit as he's studying the screen. I'm trying to get his attention. "Honey, we're supposed to be eating. Try this, it's super amazing!" "I'm thinking this might be one of my favorite things EVER!" "You're going to flip when you try this one." After another minute or so, he looks at me and says, "You make me laugh." Finally, he picks up his fork and takes a bite. "Mmmm, it is really good". He proceeds to eat every last bit, looks up and says "Really good."
I do tend to get a little more excited than the average Joe about recipes that are crazy-good; like this Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable and Pearl Pasta Salad. I guess that's why I started The Café in the first place, just to be able to share with folks like you how fun, interesting and delicious food can be. Just simple, everyday ingredients like carrots, onions, peppers, mushrooms roasted, with olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper, until tender and caramelized. And tiny pearl pasta simmered in chicken broth till perfectly al dente. All these wonderful ingredients married together with a delicious olive oil, lemon and herb dressing. I mean what's there not to get excited about??
Whether you get crazy-excited about crazy-good food like I do, or your more normal like Scott, you won't want to miss this fabulous, healthy salad!
P.S. We enjoyed this salad two days in a row for lunch. It was just as delicious and looked as bright and vibrant the second day... which means you can make it in the morning or even the day before for and effortless dinner. Serve it on it's own with a loaf of warm, crusty bread or as a side to any type of grilled, roasted or pan-seared entree.
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Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable and Pearl Pasta Salad
Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable and Pearl Pasta Salad - healthy, tons of flavor, beautiful to present!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
- fine zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- extra virgin olive oil, see instructions for amounts
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, halved if large
- 2 medium bell peppers or 8-10 mini bell peppers, color of your choice - I used the minis in yellow, orange and red
- 1 medium red onion, peeled, halved, each half cut in quarters.
- 1 medium sweet yellow onion, peeled, halved, each half cut in quarters.
- 2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into ½-inch slices
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into ½-inch diagonal slices
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 ½ cups pearl pasta, also known as Israeli couscous, cooked according to package directions using chicken broth instead of water.
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes
Instructions
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake well. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450˚F. Line 3 sheet pans with parchment paper or foil. Allow parchment paper/foil to extend over the edges of the pans.
- Place bell papers, onions and zucchini on one sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stir to coat veggies with oil.
- Place carrots on the second pan. Drizzle with honey and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stir to coat. Place mushrooms on the last pan and drizzle with olive oil. Stir to coat.
- Scatter each pan with a generous pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Place all three pans into preheated oven with mushrooms on the lowest rack. Roast for 10 minutes then stir each pan to redistribute vegetables. Return carrots and mushrooms pans to the oven. Pan with onions, peppers and zucchini should be done at this point. If zucchini is still not tender return it to the oven for another minute or two or until tender but not mushy.
- Roast carrots another 8-10 minutes or until tender. Mushrooms will take 15-20 longer minutes and should be deep golden brown when finished.8. Combine cooked couscous, roasted veggies and spinach in a large bowl.
- Leave the parchment paper or foil on one of the pans and add tomatoes. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tilt pan several times to coat tomatoes with oil. Place in the oven for 6-7 minutes or until beginning to shrivel slightly. Remove from the oven and set aside. Add dressing to pasta mixture in bowl. Stir gently to distribute. Taste, add salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to a serving dish or platter and scatter with the cherry tomatoes.
- Serves 4 as a main dish, 6-8 as a side salad
Nutrition
Calories: 296kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 9gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 45mgPotassium: 672mgFiber: 5gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 6586IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 2mg
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We love this recipe & have made so much I know it by heart! Has anyone tried substituting Wheat Berries for the Israeli Couscous? Or what are your thoughts?
Thank you Chris! I love all your recipes!
Aww, thanks so much for taking the time to leave your review, Rinda! I think wheat berries would be a fabulous sub for couscous in this salad! Great idea!
Hello, is it 1 1/2 cup of raw or cooked pasta?
Hi Marina, that's ½ cup uncooked pasta.
Hi - the recipe is written as 1 and 1/2 cup uncooked pasta. Is it really only 1/2 cup uncooked? I just want to ensure I have enough dressing. Thanks!
Hi Debbie, it's 1½ cups of raw pasta - I cook it in a combination of half chicken broth and half water like I would cook pasta, then drain off the excess liquid.
This recipe is absolutely delicious. Already looking longingly at the left overs for lunch tomorrow. I think I might sprinkle on a little feta too!
Wonderful! Thanks for the review, Sharon!
I'm allergic to honey -- what can I sub for it on the carrots? Or can I just leave it off and roast all the veg together? (This looks SO GOOD and I can't wait to try it!)
Hi Anne, you could sub maple syrup!
I absolutely love this one cold! I added beets and everything was fantastic!!!!
Thanks, Kimberly! Beets sounds wonderful in this!
Hi! This says it takes 3 hours and 5 minutes to make. I'm trying to figure out where the 3 hours comes from? To me it looks close to an hour to cook. Am I missing something?
No, you're not missing a thing, Emily! It's me. A while back I changed recipe plugins and it messed up all of my times. I've been trying to slowly go back and change them but with over 1200 recipes it's a slow process. I'll change this one now! Thanks!
Hello, Can this be made up ahead of time? I'd like to make it for a work party and do the prep work the evening before. I'm assuming if I do this I wouldn't want to put the dressing on until shortly before the party. Thank you,
Yes, you could definitely make it ahead and add the dressing right before serving.
This was so delicious.. even my carnivore husband didn't miss the meat!
Thanks so much Judy, so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting us know 🙂
This looks amazing! Is this salad ok to eat cold? I know you said it can be made ahead or eaten as leftovers.
Cold might not be so good, but room temperature would be fine.
This was so delicious! I added black oil cured olives for extra flavor and it was so yummy!
Thanks so much for letting us know Heather! The olives sound amazing, what a great idea! I love it when people take my recipes and make them even better!
Delish!! A little effort but, WOW, worth every minute. . It's beautiful , delicious, and healthy! Thanks for recipe.
Hi! This looks delicious, I plan on making this for a party, my question is are you cooking the pearl pasta in plain water or chicken broth? It was mentioned but I don't see it listed in the ingredients.
You mention in the ingredients list that it calls for a sweet yellow onion. I think you meant pepper, looking at the photos!
Hi Lauren,
I used both a sweet yellow onion and bell peppers in the recipe.
Love all the vegetables! Isn't have couscous so I used rotini pasta but the pasta sucked up all the sauce so I splashed it win balsamic and it was amazing. Well def try it with couscous but it was still yummy
I bet it was great with the rotini and that was smart to add a splash of balsamic. Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂 We loved this one. I'll be making it again, for sure!
This recipe was amazing, the whole family loved it. Thank you for the recipe; I am cooking impaired so anything I can make that is actually edible is a big surprise. This was really easy and turned out delicious!
Thanks so much for letting us know Candy. You are so funny - "cooking impaired" 🙂 So happy you enjoyed it. We loved this one too!
The new site looks terrific!
I am loving this dish - roasted veggies are the best.
I have just done all the prep work for tonight's dinner. We, in Toronto, are in another deep freeze, so this salad will be a harbinger of spring!
I have read and re-read the list of ingredients and do not see spinach mentioned, yet it is referred to in the text.
I will 'wing' it in case you don't get back to me today, but hopefully you will. All the components are sensational!
Thanks Susan, I've added the spinach. So sorry - Chris
Lovely, vibrant salad, Chris...I am a fan of Israeli couscous.
This fresh salad is just what I need to get out of my winter funk! Thanks for sharing.
I love roasted veggies, what a colorful and delicious salad!
Colorful,pretty delicious and healthy!That's my kind of dish!
Kisses,dear!
I love the herbs in this dressing. Roasting the vegetables put it over the top!
Looks wonderfully delicious, Chris! I love roasted veggies…making them into a delicious salad with pasta is perfect for my taste! I’d even be willing to share some with the mice!
I am craving a salad like this. love it. thanks for sharing.
Amazing salad and the clicks made it irresistible! Chris, you make vegetables look so good 🙂
Lovely lovely pasta dish... Looks like summer on a plate:)
This looks like the kind of salad I'd love, too. Thanks for sharing! (And I have to say that we all get pretty excited about good food at our house!)
Looks so delicious Chris! Even the plate is great! Kisses and thanks for sharing!!
Love the roasted vegetables.
Looks delicious, with all those bright colors against the pearl pasta. Yummy!
Chris this dish is stunning! I would definitely make this and eat it as a main course. Perfect for company as well. Beautiful photo!
I love pearl couscous - so pretty! Love that you're using so many herbs and veggies in this recipe - so healthy and nutritious and yummy!
I think I've found a way to cook and serve my favorite veggies. This is the first time I've heard of pearl pasta and I can't wait to try it. Hats off to you and Scott these pictures are amazing.
So good and sure looks pretty:@)
We are not big rosemary fans in our household, so I use a sprinkle of dried mint instead - definitely a hit 🙂 Thanks for sharing and reminding me summer is coming.
LOVE this beautiful and colorful salad! Beautiful photos too!
This looks really healthy n stunning!
I'm so glad you get crazy-excited about crazy-good food, Chris! I love this post for so many reasons and cannot wait to make this beautiful pasta and veggie salad and test it out on hubby. He is like Scott, it takes a lot to get him enthusiastic. But, he does enjoy good food. Thanks for sharing. Pinning!
Your pearl couscous looks so colourful, delicious and healthy as well, Chris.
Oh, Chris! You and Scott sound like Ben and me! Except he just waits until I'm finished photographing! So healthy and filling...love love...you're hitting my hot buttons! xo
That does look amazing. I am sure I would be focused on the salad and not a computer if you sat this down in front of me. Not like that's a hint or anything.
This looks fabulous! I'll be trying this sometime soon!