Pasta Salad with Italian Sausage, Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Olives

Directions

Cut zucchini lengthwise into fourths, then cut into pieces about 3/4 inch long. Cook zucchini about 5 minutes in boiling, salted water, then drain well and cool. While the zucchini cooks, wash fresh basil and chop finely Mix fresh or frozen basil and dried basil into the dressing. Drain the zucchini well in a colander placed in the sink; then put zucchini into small Ziploc bag with about 1/4 cup of the dressing and let it marinate on the counter until you’re ready to assemble the salad. Drain the olives well Drain the red peppers and cut into bite-sized pieces. Saute sausage in small amount of olive oil in large frying pan until it is firm and nicely browned on all sides. Remove from pan and let cool until it’s is cool enough to handle, then cut into slices slightly less than 1/2 inch thick. While sausage is cooling, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta 9-10 minutes, or until still slightly al dente. Briefly rinse pasta with very cold water, then drain in colander and let cool. When pasta is slightly cooled, mix pasta and and sausage into olive/pepper mixture. Add zucchini and any dressing which is in the bag. Add the rest of the dressing mixture and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and mix gently. Chill the salad for 1 hour or more if possible. Serve with additional coarsely-grated Parmesan to add at the table. This will keep for a day or so in the refrigerator, but you might want to add a little extra dressing before serving the leftovers.