Minestrone Salad

Made this for dinner few nights ago (and we're still having it--just FYI); I thought it sounded light, summery, kind of like Minestrone only not hot soup. I had to tweak it. The recipe in its original form is rather bland. It does make a WHOLE lot and once we had tinkered with it, it's quite delish.

from Martha Stewart
Ingredients

Serves 4.

* 1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more for seasoning
* 8 ounces gemelli or other pasta, such as penne or rotini
* 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
* 1 zucchini (about 6 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch dice
* 4 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces I used frozen Steamers, just used 1.5 c and cut them in half, didn't cook them before hand
* 1 1/4 cups corn kernels, cut from 1 ear, or frozen I used canned corn, drained. Probably would be good with the fresh stuff. oh well.
* Freshly ground pepper
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 pound assorted tomatoes, roughly chopped Fresh tomatoes are gone, so I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes, drained.

Modifications:
added 1/2 tsp thyme (dried), 1 tsp basil (dried), 1 tsp oregano (dried), and 1/3 ground Italian sausage, cooked, drained.


Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt to the boiling water. Add gemelli, and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water; set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add carrot, and cook until it softens, about 4 minutes. Add zucchini, green beans, and corn. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a medium bowl to cool. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, beans, tomatoes, and reserved pasta. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve chilled or at room temperature. I prefer it warm with Parmesan cheese over it.