Pasta Salad with zucchini, pine nuts and feta

A special and slightly expensive ingredient, the pine nuts, when roasted give out their full potential and add a crunchy yet delicious aspect to this dish. Here is a simple pasta salad recipe with a unique personality...

Ingredients:

The dressing:
* 1 cup fresh mint leaves
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 3 tablespoons chopped feta
* 1 pinch cayenne pepper
* 1 lemon, for its lemon juice and zest
* 1 clove garlic
* Salt and freshly ground pepper

The pasta salad itself:
* 1 pound short pasta of your choice (penne, fusilli or gemelli)
* A little olive oil
* 2-3 clove garlic, halved
* 3 zucchini, sliced into 4 lengthwise quarters, then sliced again 1/2 inch. thick
* 6 oz (1 1/4 cups) crumbled feta or ricotta salata
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* Plenty roasted pine nuts

Cooking instructions:

First, we make the dressing

1) Put the dressing ingredients in the bowl of your blender or food processor and pulse a few times or until everything is coarsely chopped. Reserve.

Now the pasta,

2) In a large skillet, heat up some oil over medium heat and in it infuse the garlic for a few minutes. Add zucchini, salt and fry until slightly the zucchini are browned but still crisp. Discard the garlic.

3) Cook the pasta in boiling salted water then drain, and allow it to cool down. Combine pasta, zucchini, pesto and feta, in a large bowl. Mix well then check seasoning. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and serve immediately.