Vibrant Green Spring Pasta Salad - Asparagus, Arugula, Sweet Peas with a Lemon Feta Vinaigrette
It’s that wonderful time of year when nature revives itself after a winter of slumber. It awakens and green leaves spring out from the trees, green grass becomes a soft carpet to our feet. And the most precious green vegetable pops its torch-like head through the ground, raising its stalk to bask in the sun…asparagus! One of the many blessings of living here is our access to this delicious spear. Our Michigan asparagus has a flavor like none other. To create an impactful flavored salad, I combined asparagus with the pop of peas, the peppery bite of arugula and the herbal additions of dill, chives, and parsley. The salad dressing has the bright flavor of lemon with a creamy layer from feta cheese. The feta cheese plays two roles in this vinaigrette. It adds a briny flavor, and its dairy qualities help the dressing adhere to the pasta and vegetables. Different feta’s have different degrees of saltiness. You may want to add additional salt if you use a French Feta.I chose Garganelli pasta for its unique shape, a grooved pasta square rolled into a cylinder with pointed ends. The grooves and the hollow interior allow the dressing to flow both inside and outside the pasta, magnifying the flavor in every bite. Penne would work very well too with its cylinder shape and textured exterior. Though it’s not a tubular pasta, Fusilli has all the grooves and niches to capture lots of flavor from the dressing. Enjoy! Happy Spring!
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
Asparagus & Pea Pasta Salad
- ½ pound Garganelli Pasta (fusilli or penne work well too)
- 1 pound Asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces, tough section of stalk removed
- 5 ounces Spring Peas or Frozen Peas thawed
- 2 ounces Arugula
- ¼ cup Dill Sprigs pinched into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup Chives cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup Parsley Leaves pinched from the stem
- Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
Lemon Feta Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Fresh Lemon Juice approx. 1 ½ lemons
- ¼ cup Feta crumbled
- ½ teaspoon Celery Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
Instructions
Asparagus & Pea Pasta Salad
- *Make the vinaigrette while the pasta is cooking or while it is cooling down.
- Bring salted water to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan. Boil for 9 minutes (or a minute and a halfless than the recommended time for the pasta you chose) until soft to thebite. Add the asparagus and peas for the last 1 ½ minutes of cooking time. Rinse pasta and asparagus under cold water. Pat dry with a paper towel. Set to the side.
- In a large bowl, layer pasta, asparagus, peas, and arugula. Add 2/3 of the dressing and gently toss. Top with dill, chives, and parsley. Toss gently again. Season with fresh ground pepper. Taste and add additional dressing or pepper, if needed. This layering process will help avoid the ingredients landing at the bottom of the bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl (garnish with additional sprigs of dill and parsley leaves) and serve.
Lemon Feta Vinaigrette
- Combine all the ingredients in a mini food processor. Process till the dressing is creamy and smooth. Taste and add additional salt if needed.
Notes
Note:
Snapping the tough end off your asparagus
Hold the bottom half of the asparagus spear with two hands. Bend the asparagus and it will snap at the point between the tender asparagus and the lower tougher end of the spear.
Snapping the tough end off your asparagus
Hold the bottom half of the asparagus spear with two hands. Bend the asparagus and it will snap at the point between the tender asparagus and the lower tougher end of the spear.