Spring pasta salad

Oh la la, it’s spring in a bowl!

Take the freshest spring veggies (think asparagus and peas) and toss together with some delicious herbs and a zippy vinaigrette and you’ve got yourself the perfect side to practically anything you can throw on the grill. Chicken….salmon…..skirt steak.

Even M, the hater of all ‘pasta salads’ gobbled this one up. I’ll consider that a major win in my book. 

Hurry up, get this spring pasta salad going this week! These fresh flavors won’t last long.

SPRING PASTA SALAD
Recipe adapted from Jeff Mauro

Ingredients for pasta salad:

12 ounces cavatappi pasta, cooked to package instructions
4 ounces asparagus, thinly sliced
1 box frozen peas (or fresh if you can find them), defrosted
One 12-ounce jar roasted yellow peppers, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
Parmesan shavings, for garnish

Ingredients for dressing:

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 clove garlic, grated
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, Dijon, honey, garlic, lemon zest and juice, and season with salt and pepper.

For the pasta: Cook the pasta accordingly to package directions. During the last two minutes, throw in the asparagus to cook quickly. Drain, and rinse everything under icy cold water to stop the cooking process.

Toss the drained pasta and asparagus with peas, roasted peppers, tomatoes, shallots and dill. Pour the dressing over the salad, tossing to coat. Let the salad hang out for a bit to soak up all of the flavor.

When ready to serve, bowl it up and shave some parmesan over the top. Enjoy!

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Courtney

Courtney is a wife to M and a mom of two boys, L (8) and B (3). Most of her blogging is done frantically during nap time in between laundry, cleaning, and the occasional housewives rerun. Or the brief hour or so that she can stay awake after the boys go down for the night. She loves her sleep. Read more...

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