Get some great Colavita recipes from my summer party. Included was a grilled vegetable pasta salad using Colavita pasta. So good!
You know I love to entertain.
And I love olive oil and everything Italian. So I was one happy lady when Colavita asked if I would have a party using a bunch of their products. Of course I would!
Olive oil, pasta, olives, chocolate. What's not too love? This is what came in a big box. Jealous? You should be.
So I invited over some friends and went through the Colavita website searching for recipes. Here is what was on the menu:
Appetizers:
Creamy Avocado Crostini (recipe on Colavita site)
Cheese and Olive Antipasto Board
Chips and Salsa
Fresh Mozzarella and Jersey Tomato Basil Salad (follow link)
Main Course:
Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage and Pepper Kabobs
Garlic Marinated Grilled Shrimp (recipe on Colavita site)
Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad (recipe below)
Dessert:
Pound Cake with Balsamic Strawberries and Vanilla Ice Cream
White Chocolate and Cappuccino Smores
Watermelon
Does it sound good or what? Everything from Colavita is excellent. The olive oil is light and fruity. It goes with many Italian dishes from salad to shrimp to veggies. The pasta cooks up perfectly. And the chocolate, oh the chocolate! I made smores with the decadent chocolate and the kiddos went nuts. My guests look pretty happy digging into dessert, right? These are the not shy guests. The shy guests were hiding from my camera but it didn't stop them from digging into the smores plates.
While the children loved the smores, the adults went for the pound cake with Balsamic Brown Sugar Strawberries. Today I will talk about the pasta salad that I made. It is a perfect dish to make in advance and all the veggies are gilled together so that you can refrigerate them until they are ready to use. This pasta salad is perfect to use all the bounties of summer. You could also roast the veggies in the oven if the weather is not cooperative.
In the meantime, stop by the Colavita store where you can get 15% off your purchase through September 1st. Just use the code JG15 when putting in your order.
If you like my Colavita recipe for Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad, please rate it 5 stars below.
RECIPE
Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Colavita penne rigate pasta
- 1 large zucchini cut in half and sliced in ½ inch pieces
- 8 ounces asparagus spears trimmed and cut into two inch pieces
- 2 large red or yellow peppers cored and cut into one inch pieces(I used one of each color)
- 2 TBS olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper plus more to taste
- ¼ cup Colavita Basilolio Basil flavored olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons Colavita Balsamic Vinegar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions. Drain when cooked.
- While pasta is cooking, turn gas grill on to medium heat. Toss zucchini, asparagus and peppers in a large bowl with the olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Grill for about 15 to 20 minutes on a grill pan or until veggies are no longer crisp and done to your likeness.
- In a large bowl, mix together, cooked pasta, grilled veggies, Basilolio and vinegar. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Toss well and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
****For full disclosure, I was given free Colavita product and reimbursement to buy ingredients. As usual, all opinions are my own.
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Sues
I love Colavita and this is one party that I'd definitely enjoy being at 🙂
Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry!
Looks like a good time was had by all! 🙂 I love Colavita as well. Your pasta salad looks divine, I will definitely have to try it!
Joanne
What a fun party and delicious summer feast!
patsy
That's a great party! Everything looks delicious!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl
Oh goodness, everything looks so great here! What a great collection of goodies!