Pasta salad with Lemon and Peanut dressing

Come Summer I am going more towards anything light for lunch. And that means soups and salads to the rescue. I love salads with lots of colorful veggies and something substantial like pasta or paneer to make a whole meal in itself. The lemon peanut dressing in this salad is very simple yet gives a lot a flavour combined with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 

Ingredients:
Serves - 3 or 4
Pasta - any short cut variety like rotelle - 2 cups
Chopped Vegetables -1 to 1 1/2 cups - I used chopped celery, carrots, cucumbers and red bell peppers
For the dressing:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) - 1/4 cup - Oriental sesame oil can be used
Fresh Lemon juice - 3 tsp
Lemon zest - from one lemon
Brown sugar - 1/2 tsp
Peanuts - roasted and crushed - 2 tbsp - Black sesame seeds can also be used
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al-dente (cooked but not too soft). Drain and set aside. Dry roast the peanuts until toasted. Allow to cool and remove the skin. Pulse in the blender until coarsely powdered. For the dressing, whisk together the EVOO and lemon juice until frothy. Add the lemon zest, brown sugar, crushed peanuts and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside. Mix the cooked cooled pasta and the chopped vegetables. Top the salad with the dressing when ready to serve. Give a gentle toss and serve in individual bowls.
Note: This salad is super tasty and absolutely satisfying. Practically any vegetable can be added. The pasta may be rinsed after draining. Technically rinsing the pasta after cooking is not recommended since the resident starch in the pasta allows the sauce to stick to the pasta and impart greater flavor. But for pasta salads, you may rinse the pasta to avoid the extra starch.
Check out my other Soups and Salad recipes here.

I am sending this to Monthly Mingle - Scintillating Salads, B2B - Basic Chutneys and to Fast Food to Fat Food event.
Sending this to Srivalli's Soups and Salads Mela