Cooking Lesson #1051: Grilled & Chilled Sausage & Peppers Pasta Salad

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

photo credit: bettycrocker.com

How you doin’? I couldn’t believe how many people were at my local Vons’ Deli buying different pasta salads. I couldn’t understand why, when it is so easy to make them yourself.
 
It’s summertime and eating pasta salads always feels like a flashback to the happy barbecues and picnics of my youth. I still can see, in my mind’s eye, the paper plate sagging under my burger, potato chips, and a pile of rotini, diced veggies and cheese tossed in bottled Italian dressing.
 
Today’s salad is all that with a more sophisticated medley of veggies, a homemade dressing, and most importantly, some spicy Italian sausage hot off the grill.
 
For the veggies, I’ve used fresh sweet peppers and bitter radicchio, which I roast on the grill ‘til the leaves are wilty-soft and little bit charred. The Italian sausage goes on the grill, too, of course. And then I chop it all up—long and slender—to be the same size as the rotini. That all goes in a bowl with the al dente noodles, crunchy celery, strips of milky fresh mozzarella, and a handful of Italian basil.
 
My homemade dressing pulls it all together with a concoction of lemon juice and zest, tomato paste, thyme, shallots, and plenty of garlic. It tastes zippy, fresh and bright. A quick secret is that the tomato paste helps it adhere to the noodles and adds a tangy flavor note without adding a lot of liquid to the salad.
 
This is a perfect addition to your BBQ just like the pasta salads of yore (did I really just say “yore”?). It doesn’t wilt and it’s highly complementary to all manner of grillables, so it’s perfect for barbecues and picnics. I like to make a little extra and have it ready for leftovers. It’s even better the second day which makes Monday’s lunch or dinner something special again.
 
Prep time:  25 minutes
Pasta Cook time:  9 to 12 minutes
Sausage Grill time:  20 minutes
Yield:  8 servings
 
Ingredients 
1 pound rotini pasta
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little more for drizzling
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste (I use the stuff out of the tube)
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 large thinly sliced shallot, separated into rings
2 teaspoons freshly chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
 
1 pound mild or spicy Italian sausage
3 bell peppers (a mix of red, yellow, and green)
1 small radicchio head, halved
2 large celery ribs, thinly sliced diagonally
1/4 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
1 cup chiffonade cut basil
1 teaspoon aged thick balsamic vinegar
 
Directions

1. Bring a grill to medium heat.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente about 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Drain and transfer the pasta to a large bowl.
4. Drizzle the pasta lightly with olive oil and toss to coat. Let cool to room temperature.
5. In a medium bowl, stir together the lemon juice, lemon zest, tomato paste, garlic, shallot and thyme.
6. Stir in 6 tablespoons of the olive oil.
7. Season the dressing with salt and black pepper, to taste.
8. Place the sausages, whole bell peppers and halved radicchio on the grill rack.
9.  Drizzle the peppers and radicchio with olive oil and grill them until they’re charred, about 10 minutes.
10. Grill the sausages for 20 minutes or until they reach 165º on an instant-read thermometer.
11. Transfer the sausages, bell peppers and radicchio to a cutting board. Cut the sausages into 1-inch thick slices on the diagonal.
12. Julienne cut the veggies.
13. In a large serving bowl, toss together the pasta, sausages, bell peppers, radicchio, celery, mozzarella and dressing.
14. Drizzle with Balsamic vinegar over the top.
15. Season the pasta salad with salt and black pepper, sprinkle with basil, and serve.

ChefSecret:  I use Fini Organic balsamic vinegar in lot of my recipes.  It must be the real thing, not a cheap knockoff. The balsamic I use is dark and thick and perfect for drizzling.

Quip of the Day:  What did the rotini say to the bell peppers? Pasta la vista, baby!
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                                                                           ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2025

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