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Fall Pasta Salad

  • Isabel S.
  • Oct 24, 2018
  • 3 min read

Once there's the slightest hint of cooler weather I'm a roasting maniac. I don't care if it's actually 90 degrees out, a whiff of fall and it's happening. I love a good raw salad or bowl of lightly steamed broccoli but roasted veggies are by far my favorite! This combo of roasted veggies and pasta with the tangy balsamic dressing is the absolute perfect side dish! In fact, it's so good I've been eating it for lunch as the main dish! Basically, it's amazing and you should make it immediately

Besides the taste my favorite part of this dish is how colorful it is. I love the mix of green, orange, and purple that come from this mix of vegetables. It's literally fall in a bowl. Another perk is it's easy to make ahead of time. All I leave out is the bacon, pecans, and cheese. Before serving warm up the mixed veggies and pasta and cook the bacon, roast up the pecans then add them with the cheese right before serving. This honestly doesn't make a huge difference (I eat it leftover with everything already mixed in) but it does help the crunch factor of the bacon and pecans to be added lasted minute.

So, whether you're meal prepping something for a week of lunches/side dishes or trying to come up with a fun new side dish for Thanksgiving, I've got you! Look no further! This is it!

Ingredients

Easily serves 4 people as a side. Double recipe if needed

1 medium butternut squash

3 good sized purple beets

Brussel sprouts- I make enough where its a pretty even ratio of squash, beets, and brussels

1/2 medium puple onion sliced

3-4 slices of bacon

Big handful of pecans

Fussili (I use brown rice fussili from Trader Joe's)

Parmasiano reggiano or goat cheese crumbles (optional)

For the dressing

Oil- Olive, avocado, or grapeseed

Balsamic vinegar

Sea salt

Pepper

Cumin

Garlic powder

Directions

  1. Cut butternut squash in half and place cut side down on a lined baking sheet. Poke a few holes in the skin.

  2. Slice beets into bite-sized pieces (they will shrink some as the cook, and cut brussel sprouts in half. Toss them in oil and season lightly with sea salt and garlic powder.

  3. Roast at 400F until butternut squash is soft to touch and brussels are cooked (about 20-25 minutes). In the last 8-10 minutes of roasting add the puple onion!

  4. Cut the bacon into pieces and cook until crisp. When bacon is done cooking drain fat from pan then add the pecans, stirring occasionally. The little bit of bacon grease with toast up the pecans slightly. Once the pecans are slightly browned (it only takes a few minutes) remove them from the heat. They will crisp up as they cool.

  5. While the veggies are roasting bring pasta water to a boil and cook the fusilli to al dente and make the dressing (See directions below)

  6. Drain the pasta (don't rinse) and add about 1/3 of the dressing and a few grinds of sea salt and pepper to the plain pasta.

  7. When the squash is cool enough to touch carefully cut the skin off and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

  8. Combine the pasta with the veggies and toss to combine.

  9. Add bacon and pecans then drizzle the rest of the dressing on the whole dish.

  10. Add a little cheese and stir to combine.

  11. Top it off with more cheese and serve warm. (Again, before you serve, TASTE! If you think it needs more dressing whip up another batch and add it. You're the chef. Don't be scared to make it your own!)

To make dressing-

In a jar with a lid combine 1/4 cup oil and a little less than 1/4 cup balsamic along with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a dash of cumin. Shake until the mixture takes on a creamy texture. I don't put a measurement because the best part of cooking is being able to make it exactly how you like. Start low then add more seasoning to your taste.

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