It’s Father’s Day on Sunday, so let’s put dad to work.
Dads love to grill, right? So, get him involved with the prep on this crowd-pleasing, savory, grilled pasta salad. It’s healthy but it’s also hearty, so it feeds a lot of people at once. With the chicken and vegetables all mixed together, it’s pretty much a no-fuss, one-dish meal. Perfect for dads who like to feel they helped, a lot.
Sure, you can buy store-bought roasted red peppers, but then dad wouldn’t get as much credit, and you won’t get the same level of flavor from the pre-roasted peppers. Also, it will be fun for him when you tell him he can burn these peppers to a literal crisp (so we can steam the charred skins off and get to that beautifully tender meat inside…but he doesn’t need to know all of that).
The charcoal-fired flavors really come through with the grilled chicken, bits of charred and tender red onions and those beautifully softened red pepper strips, hit with the freshness of the basil and saltiness of the parmesan. I might serve this with a tray of antipasti and make a real American/Italian feast out it. Everyone can grab and go with what they like.
Roasted Red Pepper & Grilled Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 box penne pasta
- 2 large red bell peppers
- 1 large red onion
- 2-3 chicken breasts, I used bone-in for more flavor
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- A handful of fresh basil, torn
Dressing
- 3/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
- 1 heaping spoonful of Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken in a few glugs of balsamic vinegar and about 2 grated garlic cloves, salt and pepper, for about an hour prior to cooking.
- Cook pasta according to instructions on box. Run under cool water when done, toss with some olive oil and set aside.
- Over a hot grill, place peppers with the skins on and red onion, peeled and halved, and chicken. Char onion on all sides and the peppers until black. Remove peppers and place in a brown paper bag for at least 15 minutes to steam and cool. Remove onion once cooked through, slightly charred, but still intact, slice and add to pasta. Once peppers are cooled enough to handle, peel off skins and slice into strips. Add to pasta.
- Once chicken is cooked all the way through, remove, slice and add to pasta as well.
- To make the dressing, add all ingredients to a jar and shaking until emulsified.
- Pour dressing over pasta and all other ingredients, add ample amounts of parmesan and fresh basil, toss well and enjoy.
