Roasted Zucchini Pasta Salad

Linh's daughter Mei is getting married in November. In Dallas. Bobby, Mei's uncle, has been invited and is expected to attend. Bobby does not enjoy Dallas. Dallas is a city that tries too hard. Houston doesn't try at all, which is preferable. But Mei is family and I will drive four hours and wear a suit and smile, because that is what uncles do.

The invitation arrived Monday. Heavy card stock, embossed lettering, a response card with a pre-stamped envelope. Mei is marrying a tax attorney named Jeffrey, which is exactly the kind of person a Dallas-based attorney would marry. Linh says he's "very nice." When Linh says someone is "very nice," she means they are adequate and she has decided not to fight about it. I asked what he's like. She said, "He wears loafers." This was all the information I needed.

The wedding is at a venue in Highland Park that I cannot pronounce and will not attempt to. Linh asked if I would bring something for the family gathering the night before — a pre-wedding dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in Garland, where the Dallas Viet community is centered. I said I'd bring brisket. She said, "Bobby, it's a Vietnamese dinner." I said, "I know. I'll bring brisket." There is no Vietnamese dinner that cannot be improved by the addition of brisket. This is my life's thesis.

Work was steady. Delivered the hotel kitchen equipment I'd contracted in August. The chef — the Mexican-Parisian fusion woman — made me a plate of duck confit tacos as payment. They were extraordinary. Dark, rich, the duck practically melting, topped with pickled onion and a mole verde. I sat in her kitchen and ate them and thought about how every city in America is becoming a better food city because of immigrants, and how that is the most obvious statement in the world and also apparently still controversial, which says more about the controversy-makers than it does about the food.

Made bún chả for dinner Friday — the Hanoi grilled pork and vermicelli dish that Obama ate with Anthony Bourdain in 2016. Fatty pork patties and sliced pork belly, grilled over charcoal until charred, served in a bowl of sweet-sour fish sauce broth with rice noodles, lettuce, and fresh herbs on the side. You dip the pork into the broth, wrap it with herbs and noodles, and eat. It's one of the most perfect dishes in Vietnamese cuisine and I will argue about this with anyone, including Mai, who prefers pho. She's wrong. She's rarely wrong. But about this, she is wrong.

The bún chà was Friday. The brisket for Garland is a separate project and a separate argument I have already won in my own head. In between those two commitments — the pork belly I owed myself and the brisket I owe Linh — I needed something that didn’t ask much of me: no charcoal, no fish sauce ratios, no thesis. Just the zucchini that had been sitting in the crisper since Tuesday, some pasta, some heat, and an oven that does the hard part. This roasted zucchini pasta salad is what a person makes when they are conserving energy for a four-hour drive and a venue name they refuse to pronounce.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

8 oz rotini or penne pasta
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup red onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes, optional

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 425°F. Toss zucchini and cherry tomatoes with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread in a single layer.
Roast the vegetables. Roast for 20–25 minutes, flipping zucchini once halfway through, until edges are golden and tomatoes have collapsed slightly. Set aside to cool.
Cook the pasta. While vegetables roast, cook pasta in well-salted boiling water according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse briefly with cold water to stop cooking. Transfer to a large bowl.
Make the dressing. Whisk together remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until emulsified.
Combine. Add roasted vegetables and red onion to the pasta. Pour dressing over and toss well to coat. Fold in basil and Parmesan.
Rest and serve. Let the salad sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving so the pasta absorbs the dressing. Finish with red pepper flakes if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Roasted Zucchini Pasta Salad — Something Light Before the Drive to Dallas