A penne for your thoughts on salads
There are two kinds of pasta salad in this world. The first — made with al dente noodles, excellent olive oil, well-seasoned vegetables and fresh herbs — is a dish as noble as any.
Then, there is the second type, born of an unfortunate liaison between that lovely pasta salad and a mayonnaise-slicked macaroni salad. Generations of pasta salads have suffered ever since, leaving behind a bland and soggy legacy.
It is because of this that I did not even think to call the roasted eggplant, tomato and mint penne dish I whipped up for a party recently a pasta salad.
My primary goal was to make a bright, intensely flavoured pasta dish that would taste good warm or at room temperature, something my friends could nibble right out of the pan, then continue to snack on between cocktails and conversation.
I also wanted something light enough to serve as a side dish to roasted lamb for the omnivores, yet hearty enough for those not eating meat.
And finally, I wanted to use the last of the eggplant and tomatoes I had snagged at the farmers market.
To bring out the soft meatiness of the eggplant, I roasted cubes until they collapsed into a caramelized heap, and tossed them with chopped raw tomatoes and a handful of salty capers.
Then I dressed the vegetables and pasta in a pungent, spicy oil rich with anchovies, browned garlic and chilies, a strong contrast to all those sweet flavors.
I don’t know whether, in the end, this dish truly reclaims the pasta-salad family honour, or merely declares a truce with its unctuous cousin. Either way, it certainly knows how to shine in polite company.