Spring Garden Pasta Salad
A perfectly quick spring or summer dinner, this recipe draws on Meghan’s kitchen garden in Montecito, Calif., and her fondness for meals filled with vegetables. “Use a healthy dose of garlic, mint and whatever fresh green vegetables you have on hand,” she said.
Ingredients
- Salt
- 1pound rigatoni
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3shallots, finely chopped
- 2garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1small zucchini, diced
- 1cup snap peas, strings removed
- 1/2cup green peas (see Tip)
- 1small bunch Lacinato kale or Swiss chard, stems and leaves separated, both finely sliced
- 1cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1lemon, preferably Meyer
- Parmesan or Manchego cheese or both, for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh mint leaves, for serving
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt. Add the rigatoni and cook according to the package’s directions.
While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium-high and add enough oil to coat the bottom. Add the shallots and garlic, season with salt and cook, stirring often, until just starting to soften, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the zucchini, snap peas, green peas and kale stems to the skillet. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, just until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the kale leaves, season with salt and stir just until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Transfer to a large bowl and drizzle with oil to lightly coat. If the pasta seems dry, add a splash of pasta water.
Scrape everything from the skillet over the pasta and add the tomatoes. Zest the lemon on top, then squeeze in juice from half the lemon and stir to evenly coat. Toss, taste and add more lemon juice, salt, olive oil and pasta water to taste.
Finely grate cheese and grind pepper all over. Tear the mint and scatter it on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Frozen peas work well here and don’t need to be thawed before they’re added to the pan. If you have fresh English peas, boil them in salted water until bright green and crisp tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain well, rinse under cold water and drain again before adding to the sauté.
Nutrition
- Info
- Trans Fat: 0 gramsFat: 5 gramsCalories: 379Saturated Fat: 1 gramUnsaturated Fat: 4 gramsSodium: 604 milligramsSugar: 8 gramsFiber: 7 gramsCarbohydrate: 70 gramsProtein: 14 grams