Lemon Pasta Salad Recipe with Roasted Tomatoes, Chickpeas and Feta
Quite simply, this salad is a combination of some of my very favorite things in life. Pasta, fresh lemon, olives, roasted sweet tomatoes, basil, chickpeas, feta cheese, crushed red pepper flakes… stop! I can’t handle it! So much good stuff in one simple dish. It’s got layers and layers of flavor– salty, spicy, sweet, nutty. And with that lemon juice and freshly cut basil topping the whole thing off, it smells like a Mediterranean summer.
The roasted cherry tomatoes really take this dish to another level. Roasting the tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness and makes them super juicy. Those of you with gardens probably have more tomatoes on hand than you know what to do with right about now. Pan roasting these little guys is a great way to extend their shelf life; you can keep them covered in a sealed plastic container for up to five days after roasting.
No step-by-step pictures here, because this salad is simple as can be. It would make a perfect addition to a summer buffet or cookout. These are a few of my favorite things… Enjoy!
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Lemon Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Chickpeas & Feta
Ingredients
Pasta Salad Ingredients
- 4 cups dry bowtie pasta
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or heirloom cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pinch black pepper
- 1 cup chickpeas, cooked or canned and drained
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 cup sliced ripe green olives
- 1/4 cup basil chopped or chiffonade cut
Dressing Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes if spice sensitive, use 1/4 tsp
- 1/4 teaspoon salt heaping
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to directions on the box to desired tenderness. Drain, rinse with cool water till pasta is room temperature. Reserve.
- Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat and toast the pinenuts, stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant. Reserve pinenuts in a small dish; keep the pan on medium heat.
- In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt and pinch of black pepper. Toss to combine, then add the tomatoes to the hot pan you toasted the pinenuts in. Give them a shake occasionally and cook over medium heat until blistered, about 10 minutes.
- Whisk together dressing ingredients till well combined.
- In a large salad bowl, combine all ingredients except tomatoes with the dressing, tossing to make sure all ingredients are well coated. Add the roasted tomatoes last-- gently stir them in, they will be very soft and delicate. Add more salt to taste, if desired-- careful, the olives and feta are pretty salty on their own!
- Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition
Thanks Tory. I normally don’t change anything in a recipe (the blue cheese) before I make it for the first time and this this salad will be no exception. I’ll stay with the feta.
Sounds delicious and easy to make for a group. Two questions…
If I’m taking it somewhere, should I add the roasted tomatoes at home or take them separately and add just before serving
How do you think blue cheese instead of feta, would go with the other ingredients?
Keep roasted tomatoes separate, definitely, and toss them in just before you serve. Blue cheese is a very strong flavor, and the salad has a lot of dominating flavors– lemon, spice, etc. If you go with blue cheese I would start with less than the recommended amount of feta and only add to taste, so you don’t overwhelm the other flavors.
I have been meaning to roast some tomatoes and this looks like the perfect thing to use them in—yum!
This was delicious! Thank you so much for posting.
So glad you enjoyed it! Totally my favorite pasta salad of all time. 🙂
This is a winner! Made it for my mum and dad before and they loved it.
Garam masala, potato samosas… curry with pumpkin, and sweet mango chutney… poppadams, raita, and saffron rice, too… a few of my favorite things just for you!
Looks absolutely delish! This is one recipe I need!!
Looks amazing!
delivery?
Yummy thank you
I make something similar to this & it is delicious
That is an interesting recipe.
I would actually eat that.
Oy, you are making me so hungry. 😀
Some of my favorite things too:)
This sound amazing!
You are so sweet Tori! Your posts bring a smile to my face 🙂 thank you <3
That is very kind Joe, thank you for taking the time to write! 🙂
Delish
Could eat a shameful ton of this!!!!!!
No doubt you were humming the tune from “The Sound of Music” when you posted that!
You know it Barbara! 😉