How to Use Your CSA Veggies in One Dish

Image by Paul Grant

Yesterday I picked up my bi-weekly CSA basket, weighed down with beautiful, fresh veggies from Vermont Valley Community Farm. I’m going on vacation soon, though, and needed to think of a way to use them all quickly. The answer? Pasta salad. It’s one of those “kitchen sink” dishes that allows you to toss a lot of ingredients into it without much thought. I made a boatload of it–enough for 16 friends with whom I’ll be renting cabins over the Labor Day weekend.  Here’s what went into it–these items  just happened to be what I had around the house, but can easily be substituted with other, similar ingredients.

PASTA SALAD FOR A CROWD

• 2 one-pound boxes of rotini pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 one-pound box of farfalle pasta, cooked and drained
• 20 heirloom tomatoes, assorted varieties, chopped
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 fresh banana pepper, chopped
• 1 large cucumber, chopped
• 2 heads of steamed broccoli, tops only, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped and sauteed
• 1 package of crumbled feta cheese
• 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
• Lots of olive oil
• a few splashes of balsalmic vinegar
• Loads of fresh oregano leaves
• Loads of fresh basil, chopped
• garlic powder to taste
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• sea salt to taste
• 4 TB Penzey’s pasta sprinkle (one of my favorite go-to spices)
• 4 TB Italian dressing base (I used Penzey’s, but Good Seasons or any similar dry base would work)

I tossed all of these ingredients into some mammoth-sized Tupperware containers and shook them up to distribute the spices and oil. Now I’ve got a fuss-free quick meal or snack for a weekend on the lake. Sorry for the non-precise measurements like “loads.” A pasta salad like this calls for estimation and experimentation. Have a great holiday weekend, everyone.