Warm Pasta Salad

OK, this warm pasta salad came about after my visit to the Redlands Farmers' Market. I was so excited to have all of these vegetables, that I decided to use them ALL AT ONCE.

Here's what I used:

5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, diced
4 green onions, chopped
cilantro, finely chopped
4 carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 zucchini, diced
4 baby graffiti eggplant, salted and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 sweet yellow pepper, diced
2 sweet orange peppers, diced
4 large white mushrooms, finely chopped
handful grape tomatoes, halved
handful ruby potatoes, quartered
the juice of one lemon
apple cider vinegar
salt
freshly ground black pepper
parsley
1/2 pound acini di pepe pasta
extra virgin olive oil

I cut up all of the vegetables first and mixed them together in a large bowl. I mixed in the lemon juice and some apple cider vinegar. Unfortunately I didn't measure the vinegar, but a little goes a long way, so  be conservative and taste the vegetables as you go along. Originally, I had only wanted to use the lemon juice, but it didn't have enough acidity. The apple cider vinegar was a happy solution because I only had one lemon. It really worked!

I cooked the pasta following the directions on the package. I love that it only takes 5-6 minutes to cook this tiny pasta. I drained the pasta and poured some olive oil and mixed it in so that it wouldn't stick. One quick tip: Definitely use a large strainer. The pasta is so tiny it slips through the holes in a colander.

I added olive oil to a large saute pan and waited until it was nice and hot. I added the vegetables, mixing to coat with the olive oil. Add salt, pepper, and parsley to taste and mix gently, being careful not to hurt the veggies. Once the vegetables were glistening, but still bright ( about 5 minutes), I folded in the pasta and continued cooking on high heat for another 3-5 minutes. I had to add a little more oil at this point so that the pasta wouldn't stick to the pan.

I turned off the heat and left the pan covered for ten minutes. I checked it a few times until I felt that the eggplant and potatoes were cooked through.

I placed a picture of this dish on my last post, but here it is again.

I really enjoyed this dish. If you try it or make your own variation, please share your experience. I'd love to hear about it.