Brown Rice Pasta Salad with Grilled Vegetables

Recipe by Chef Tom Shields  |  Makes 6 portions

Ingredients

For the Pasta
12 oz Lundberg Brown Rice Penne Pasta
2 tsp Rosemary leaves picked from stems
2.5 oz Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground

For the Grill
One half a Red onion, sliced 1/8″ thick
One half a Red bell pepper, quartered and seeded
One half a medium Zucchini, quartered lengthwise and seeded
4 oz Asparagus, trimmed
1 bunch Broccolini, stem ends trimmed and leaves removed
5 oz Halloumi cheese
2 oz Extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 T kosher salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground

Toppings
2 T Fresh Oregano, whole leaves, stems removed
3 T Lemon juice from 1 lemon
Black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the grill.
2. While the grill is getting hot, cook the pasta to desired doneness in plenty of boiling salted water (the water should taste like the ocean).
3. Drain the pasta and place into a large bowl and toss several times with enough of the olive oil to coat the noodles well, then add the chopped rosemary and season with fresh black pepper and set aside to cool.
4. Coat the prepared vegetables individually in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
5. Working in batches, grill your vegetables until just cooked and transfer immediately to a cooling rack or cool tray.
6. Pat the cheese dry with a paper towel and cut it into 4-5 pieces.
7. Coat the cheese with a small amount of olive oil and place gently on the grill to get grill marks and warm through. After about 2 minutes, turn the cheese over and grill another 2 minutes. Transfer to plate.
8. Cut the grilled vegetables into small bite-sized pieces and toss with the pasta and oregano.
9. Toss all with olive oil and fresh lemon juice to taste
10. Adjust the salt and pepper to your liking
11. Place the salad in a bowl and garnish with the cheese slices