Mediterranean-inspired Healthy Pasta Salad made with gluten free red lentil penne.
If you’re looking for a blow-your-socks-off delicious summer pasta salad to feed a crowd then this Mediterranean-inspired dish is without a doubt one you need to try. It is exceptional when topped with this dead-easy vegan Brazil Nut Parmesan.
Related: Creamy Mushroom Pasta
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What makes it so delicious and nutritious?
Red lentil penne is used in place of regular pasta – naturally gluten free, high in fibre and a great source of protein.
No creamy dressing, in fact no dressing at all – not that all dressings are bad – it’s just that the flavours are so intensely vibrant in this dish that you actually do not need to add anything else – strange, but trust me!
Cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil – rich in anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds.
Pine nuts – source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and vitamin E.
It’s packed with vegetables:
- Roast tomatoes – a great source of the antioxidant lycopene
- Roast garlic – source of prebiotic fibre
- Red onion – source of quercetin – a compound with antioxidant and anti-allergy effects
- Roast/blackened capsicum (bell pepper) – absolutely intensifies the flavour, source of beta-carotene
- Eggplant – rich in anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid with antioxidant effects – due to the pigment in the purple skin
- Preserved lemons – all kinds of flavoursome
- Basil – a pop of green to finish!
Healthy pasta salad, step by step
This isn’t the quickest meal I’ve made, you have to be patient blackening the capsicum – but it is so freaking good you’ll forgive the extra little bit of time. Of course – you can always do this part the day before if you like.
To start – place an ovenproof tray on the top shelf of the oven, set it to grill and pump the temperature right up to high. You don’t want to be using a wire rack because the capsicum will leak out some juice as they roast.
Place whole capsicums on the tray and use tongs to turn them every five minutes or so. After a while, the heat will blister and blacken the skins.
Once they’ve completely blackened, leave to cool on a board, then cut off the stalks and remove the skins and inner seeds. Slice into thick strips and set aside.
Now we’re roasting toms and garlic – so reset the oven to bake, at 200˚C / 392˚F.
Slice the top off a whole head of garlic, revealing the exposed cloves. Drizzle with olive oil then wrap it in tinfoil.
Place on a baking tray with baby tomatoes, then roast for about 30 minutes (we want to use the middle rack this time). Take the tomatoes out after 15-20 minutes – they’ll cooker quicker.
The garlic cloves should be soft and brown by the time you’re done, and they should easily be squeezed from their skins – use a cocktail fork if it’s too hot for you.
While the tomatoes and garlic roast, dry toast a handful of pine nuts till fragrant then set aside. Add oil to the pan and finely slice a large red onion, fry over low-medium heat with diced eggplant until all are soft and golden.
You can multi-task and get your pasta on to cook while you do this – follow the packet instructions to a tee – the red lentil penne is perfect after 8 minutes and falls apart after 10. Once cooked, drain, rinse, and add to a large mixing bowl.
Once all elements have been cooked – combine them together. The last few ingredients to add are the finely sliced preserved lemons (about 3-4 quarters is perfect), and a handful of fresh basil leaves.
If you have a jar of this vegan parmesan handy – I highly recommend a few generous spoons over the top to serve.
Boom. Healthy Pasta Salad for the win!
Recipe tips and tricks
- You can use regular penne if you like, it doesn’t have to be gluten free. But either way, make sure you rinse under cold water for a few seconds to avoid it sticking together.
- The type of pasta I use is made with 73% red lentils, 27% brown rice flour. It’s soft in texture, the closest I’ve found to regular pasta.
- You can try a gluten-free grain-based pasta (for example, made with sorghum/buckwheat/quinoa flours), but in my opinion they’re just too starchy and doughy
- If you’re short on time, you can blacken the capsicum and roast your tomatoes and garlic the day before
- This dish is best served right away – red lentil penne does tend to dry out a bit
- If you’re re-heating this dish, sprinkle a little water over the top before hand to moisten it up
- Honestly – if you follow my ingredients and instructions exactly – you will not need a dressing! Strange but true
Ok lovers, enjoy – I reckon this is a goodie for your Christmas Day celebrations.
See you again next week,
Lauren.
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📖Recipe
Healthy Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 250g red lentil penne
- 4 tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 large capsicum (bell peppers)
- 1 head garlic
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large red onion
- 1 medium eggplant (aubergine)
- 1 preserved lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- To start – place an ovenproof tray on the top shelf of the oven, set it to
grill and pump the temperature right up to high. Place whole capsicums on the tray
and use tongs to turn them every five minutes or so. After a while, the heat
will blister and blacken the skins. - Once capsicums have completely blackened, leave to cool on a board, then cut
off the stalks and remove the skins and inner seeds. Slice into thick strips
and set aside. - Reset the oven to bake, at 200˚C / 392˚F, with the baking tray on the middle shelf.
- Slice the top off a whole head of garlic, revealing the exposed cloves.
Drizzle with olive oil then wrap it in tinfoil. Place on a baking tray with baby
tomatoes, then roast for about 30 minutes, removing the tomatoes after 15-20 minutes as they'll cook quicker. - The garlic cloves should be soft and brown by the time you’re done, and
they should easily be squeezed from their skins – use a cocktail fork if it’s
too hot for you, set aside. - While the tomatoes and garlic roast, dry toast a handful of pine nuts till fragrant then set aside.
- Add oil to the pan and finely slice a large red onion, fry over
low-medium heat with diced eggplant until all are soft and golden. - Cook pasta as per packet instructions, drain, rinse, and transfer to a large bowl.
- Finely slice 1 preserved lemon.
- Combine all ingredients together in the bowl and toss, add fresh basil leaves to finish.
Notes
- You can use regular penne if you like, it doesn’t have to be gluten free. But either way, make sure you rinse under cold water for a few seconds to avoid it sticking together.
- The type of pasta I use is made with 73% red lentils, 27% brown rice flour. It’s soft in texture, the closest I’ve found to regular pasta.
- You can try a gluten-free grain-based pasta (for example, made with sorghum/buckwheat/quinoa flours), but in my opinion they’re just too starchy and doughy
- If you’re short on time, you can blacken the capsicum and roast your tomatoes and garlic the day before
- You can make your own preserved lemons (easy) or buy them
- This dish is best served right away – red lentil penne does tend to dry out a bit
- If you’re re-heating this dish, sprinkle a little water over the top before hand to moisten it up
- Honestly – if you follow my ingredients and instructions exactly – you will not need a dressing! Strange but true
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