Summer Pasta Salad
Summer pasta salad with NO MAYO is perfect for a light dinner, a pot-luck side dish or a delicious lunch. It's easy to make and will stay good iIn the fridge all week.
Servings: 9 cups
Calories: 446kcal
Ingredients
- 12 oz. dried pasta*
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 bag 10-oz frozen peas (1 ½ cups), defrosted
- 1 can 15.5 oz chick peas (1 ½ cups), rinsed and drained
- ½ cup sunflower seeds*
- 1 small shallot* sliced thin (¼ cup)
- 1 cup green tahini sauce*
Green Tahini Sauce Ingredients
- ½ cup tahini
- ½ cup lime juice
- 1 cup packed fresh parsley thick stems removed
- ¼ cup olive oil yes, you can sub water
- 2 jalapenos
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Make Green Tahini Sauce. You can do this up to 5 days in advance. The easy recipe can be found here and made in just 5 minutes. Put all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.
- Bring 3 quarts water to a rolling boil. Stir in pasta. Cooking on high heat, stirring frequently. DO . NOT OVERCOOK PASTA!! Test for doneness a couple minutes BEFORE directed on the package. I use GF rice pasta. The package said to cook for 12 minutes. I found 10 minutes to be the perfect amount of time so the pasta wasn't mushy/gummy and still had a bit of bite to it. DO NOT RINSE PASTA after it's cooked.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare remaining ingredients. Thinly slice shallot and halve the tomatoes. Make the dressing if you haven't already.
- Before draining pasta, set aside ½ cup cooking water. Then drain, but do not rinse.
- Combine pasta, sauce, spinach, peas, chick peas, sunflower seeds and shallots. Mix well. It's OK if the spinach gets a bit wilted. If sauce is too thick to distribute evenly, add set aside pasta water 1-2 Tablespoons at a time.
- Serve warm or room temp. Pasta salad will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring to room temp before eating for best taste.
Notes
PASTA: I used Jovial Brand Fusilli GF Rice Pasta. It cooked up perfectly in 10 minutes.
SUNFLOWER SEEDS: I toasted mine in a dry skillet, shaking the pan frequently for 3-4 minutes. You could also use any other nut or seed, raw or roasted.
SHALLOT: Good substitutes include: purple onion, spring onions, scallions or chives. Stick to ¼ cup and slice thin or dice small.
DRESSING: I used the recipe for green tahini sauce, thinned out with additional ¼ cup water. A good substitute if sesame is an issue would be the dressing from this chopped salad recipe.
GARNISH with additional crushed red pepper, chopped parsley or other fresh herbs, or a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
OPTIONAL: grilled corn, edamame, chopped bell peppers....steamed asparagus or green beans....any veggies you like would make great additions to this tasty salad. If you're making this in the winter, add assorted roasted veggies!
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5 cups | Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g | Sodium: 668mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g