Grilled veg and chickpea pasta salad

Method

1. Boil the pasta for the time on the packet, usually 7 to 9 minutes. Chickpea pasta overcooks fast, so taste a piece a minute early.
2. Drain and rinse under cold water. This stops it cooking and keeps it firm. Set aside.
3. Slice the zucchini and pepper into thick strips. Toss with olive oil and salt, along with the green beans.
4. Grill the veg until char marks appear and they soften, about 3 to 4 minutes each side.
5. Chop the grilled veg into bite-size pieces.
6. In a big bowl combine the pasta, veg, crumbled feta, and olives. Dress with olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon, and salt. Serve warm or chilled.

Notes

• Chickpea pasta is a legume, not strict keto. This is the honest reason this dish sits in the week as the flexible option rather than a keto dinner. Treat it as the higher-carb meal of that day and keep the portion sensible. It is a good meal, it is just not the same category as the rest of the week.
• On the Masterbuilt. Grill the veg over medium-high charcoal, and throw a few chicken breasts on at the same time for easy lunches. That is the whole reason to light it for a pasta salad.
• Built onion-free on purpose. Most versions of this salad get sliced red onion through it. House rule is no onions in anything, so the sharpness comes from the olives and the lemon instead, and it does not miss it.
• Rinsing the pasta cold is not optional here. Chickpea pasta carries on softening in its own heat and turns to paste in the bowl.
• Good cold from the fridge the next day. Add the lemon again before eating, it fades overnight.

Good with

• Beef Frikadellen
• Chicken breast and roasted broccoli
• Quick sesame cucumber salad

From Christoph Mayer