A great sautéed kale pasta salad with roasted peppers for summer BBQ’s

Looking for a new pasta salad for this summer? Try this sautéed kale pasta salad with roasted pepper, sun-dried tomato, Kalamata olives, fresh basil, and feta cheese. The dressing is light, flavourful, and delicious. I have also grilled the kale and roasted the pepper on the BBQ which is equally as delicious.

Basil essential oil salad dressing

If you haven’t tried using CPTG essential oils (certified pure therapeutic grade) yet in your cooking, I highly recommend it. Essential oils add incredible flavour to salad dressings. Not all essential oils are created equal, nor safe to use in cooking. I am only referring to dōTERRA essential oils for use in cooking. 

Recipe:

Pasta salad

Penne pasta

Kalamata olives

Sun-Dried tomatoes *I love the ones packed in oil

1 large bunch Kale

Feta cheese

Large bunch of fresh basil

Red pepper (1-2) for roasting

Parchment paper for lining baking sheet

Olive oil for sautéing kale

Pinch of sea salt

*Add as much feta, olives, pasta as needed to create balanced pasta salad. I don’t measure but probably use about 1 cup olives, 1/2 cup feta and approx. 2-3 cups dried pasta.

Dressing

 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 2 tbsp Honey

 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

 1 tbsp Honey Mustard

 Pinch of Pepper

 1/2 tsp Salt

 2 drop dōTERRA Basil essential oil

 1 tsp dried Basil

 1 tsp dried Oregano

 Directions:

Cook pasta al dente. Rinse with cold water when done.

Preheat oven to 400.

Prep kale by cutting out the stems, and roughly chopping leaves into smaller pieces.  Heat 1-2 tsp olive oil in a  large pan, add kale and sauté over medium heat. Sprinkle some sea salt on kale while in pan. Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender (*alternatively you can grill on a BBQ on medium high heat until done. I massage kale with olive oil and salt before grilling in a grill pan on the BBQ)

Place the whole red peppers on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Rub peppers with 1-2 tbsp olive oil. I use my hands to spread oil over the peppers. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip over and roast for another 20 minutes or until charred. Take the peppers out of the oven and place them into a paper bag and close the bag to let them sit until cooled. Remove the charred skin, and slice for the salad.

Add all dressing ingredients into a jar or container and whisk together.

 Place cooked pasta into a large bowl. Add sautéd kale, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, feta cheese to pasta. Pour salad dressing over and mix. 

Photography & Recipe: Jennifer Klementti