There’s a lot of pasta salad out there, what makes a good one? Contrast and proportion. With so many ingredients coming together, use a variety of textures to keep things fun bite after bite.
Here’s a vegetarian recipe that hits some great flavor and texture notes. Perfect for summertime. Go with pasta with a little flavor depth, like red lentil or the whole wheat we use below. Make it a main by adding a protein like rotisserie chicken or fresh or tinned salmon.
Ingredients
8 oz whole wheat fusilli or penne pasta
½ cup medjool dates, halved/ chopped
3 medium stalks celery, cut in thin half-moons
½ cup feta, crumbled
½ cup red grapes, halved
3 green onions, sliced
¼ cup parsley, chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
¼ cup mint, thinly sliced, plus sprigs for garnish
½ cup green olives – Castelvetrano or similar – halved
½ cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp EVOO, divided
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 Tbsp fine lemon zest
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp coriander
½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp pepper, plus more to taste
Directions
Cook pasta per instructions, leaving it a little al dente (about a minute shy of done) as it will continue cooking and soften up as you put the pasta salad together. Drain cooking water and gently fold in 2 Tbsp olive oil. Let pasta cool slightly.
Make vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, garlic, zest, Dijon, thyme, coriander and salt/pepper. Slowly add in ¾ cup olive oil, whisking as you go. Set aside for flavors to meld.
Put slightly cooled pasta in a large bowl. Add in celery, olives, feta, grapes, green onions. Add in date pieces, separating as you go so they’re not one sticky clump. Stir everything together gently. Adjust salt/pepper in dressing and fold in half of it. Fold in chopped herbs.
If serving immediately, add more dressing until you’re happy with the amount. Pasta will absorb whatever dressing you put in, so if not serving immediately, add reserved dressing just before serving. Top with toasted walnuts, herb garnishes and serve.
Guasacaca (pronounced “wah-sah-cah-cah”) is the Venezuelan version of guacamole that includes vinegar along with the zing of citrus.
Smooth and creamy, this could be your new go-to dip or even salad dressing! And it’s oh-so-satisfying and ready in minutes using familiar ingredients.
Yes, eating healthy can be all these things.
Ingredients
3 ripe avocados, peeled and cut into pieces
3 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup white onion, chopped
1/3 green bell pepper, seeded/cut in large chunks
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded/deveined/chopped (or sub more green pepper to make ½ cup total)
¼ cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley
1-2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
½ cup neutral-flavored oil, like grapeseed
1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional garnishes: cayenne/crushed chili flakes/nutritional yeast flakes
Directions
To a blender or food processor, add avocado, garlic, onion, peppers, herbs. With machine on, add oil in a small stream, followed by smaller amounts of lime juice and vinegar.
Add pinches of salt/pepper and adjust acid level to taste. Process further to evenly incorporate all ingredients and ensure a smooth texture.
Put in serving bowl and garnish. Serve with chips, crackers (seed-based or other favorite) or crudités.
Radishes with butter and salt is a simple French snack that’s a great balance of taste and texture. This recipe turns the classic combination into a compound butter, ready to spread on toast points or crackers.
It’s all about showcasing simple flavors, so a rich and creamy Euro-style butter is a great choice. Make it vegan using your favorite plant-based butter!
Ingredients
8 oz. unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
½ shallot, finely minced
Zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp chives, minced
10-12 round red radishes, trimmed & brunoised (about 1 cup)
2 Tbsp finely minced radish leaves (fresh, clean, not too tough)
Pinches of kosher sea salt
Pinch black pepper
Maldon Sea Salt, for serving
Directions
Spread radish brunoise in thin layer on a paper towel. Cover with another and press gently to remove excess moisture.
In a mixing bowl, fold ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Let rest 15-20 minutes for flavors to combine.
When serving, sprinkle a few flakes of Maldon Sea Salt on top of where you spread or dollop the butter.
Serve on sliced baguette, Belgian endive leaves, grilled steak, baked fish, scrambled eggs, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, or anything and everything else you enjoy with a delicious, colorful, springy butter!
Butter will keep up to 2 days in fridge, covered in plastic wrap.
Part sushi, part sandwich, part rice ball, onigirazu is shaped into a flat rectangle with fillings inside of rice inside of nori.
By varying the fillings, you can have combos that are good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Ingredients
4 full size nori sheets
4 cups cooked short grain white sushi or brown rice
Small sweet potato – about ½ lb
Small strip kombu seaweed (1 inch x 3 inches)
1 large avocado
7-8 oz. package marinated tofu
4 cups spinach, arugula and/or mizuna greens
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 ½ Tbsp olive oil
2-3 Tbsp warm water
1 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp white miso paste
Toasted sesame seeds
Salt/Pepper
Directions
Peel and slice sweet potato into ½-inch slices. Place in small saucepan with kombu and add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and simmer until sweet potato is soft but still firm enough not to fall apart. Remove sweet potato from water and set aside. Kombu can be sliced/diced into small pieces and used during onigirazu assembly, or discarded/composted.
To a small bowl, add 2 Tbsp warm water, tahini, miso paste. Mix to combine. Add maple syrup, lime juice and olive oil. Add more warm water to achieve desired consistency.
Open marinated tofu package over a small bowl and remove pieces. Slice pieces in half lengthwise, and then again if needed in order to get four equal slices. Set aside.
Open avocado, remove pit and cut flesh lengthwise into slices. Keep slices in half-shells until assembly to make things easier/cleaner.
Divide rice into four equal portions and arrange all ingredients for onigirazu assembly.
On a clean work surface, place a sheet of plastic wrap and then a piece of nori, shiny side down, with a corner facing towards you so it’s oriented like a diamond.
Take half of one rice portion and spread it in the center of nori, creating a 4-inch square or a little smaller. Corners of rice square will be pointing towards long sides of nori sheet and not corners. Add fillings one by one on top of rice, finishing with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. Place another layer of rice on top of fillings, making sure this layer is covering fillings.
Fold corners of nori over filling to make a square shape and wrap the onigirazu tightly with the wrap it’s sitting on. Let it sit for a few minutes and then cut the entire bundle in half with a slightly moistened sharp or serrated knife. Drizzle/dip sauce over it as you eat.
2-3 sheets toasted nori (sushi roll size, not snacks)
Directions
Boil water in a small saucepan. Add bonito flakes; reduce to ½ cup, about 20 minutes. Purée and strain, reserving pulp and liquid, separately. Simmer white wine until reduced by half; chill. Purée bonito liquid and pulp, softened butter, and rice wine vinegar. Remove from food processor and place in a bowl.
Tear nori sheets into quarter pieces, lay in small flat-bottom container and pour reduced white wine on top. When sheets are hydrated, roughly chop into small pieces. Scatter atop butter little by little and stir in by hand. Do the same with sesame seeds, mixing thoroughly.
Scoop butter onto a piece of parchment paper about 8 inches long. Roll it around butter and mold into a 6-inch log using your hands. Twist ends of paper and transfer log to refrigerator. Chill at least 2 hours before using, and up to a month.
Grilled Peach Toast with Prosciutto and 3 B’s (Burrata/Balsamic/Basil)
4 servings
Raise a toast to summer and wow your taste buds with this magnificent creation that hits all the right flavor notes.
This is a great appetizer, or a light meal all by itself. Great with all kinds of bubbly, summery drinks, from prosecco and rosé to beer and booch. Cheers!
Ingredients
4 large slices artisanal bread (cut across the center of a round loaf)
2 peaches, white or yellow, ripe but still firm
8 slices prosciutto
2-3 balls burrata
¼ cup basil leaves, for garnish
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup honey
2-3 Tbsp Olive oil
Salt/Pepper
Directions
Make balsamic reduction: Place small saucepan over medium-low heat and add 1 cup balsamic vinegar and 1 cup honey. Stir well. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer while stirring occasionally until glaze is reduced by half and lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool. Store in a glass container.
Cut peaches into quarters and then each quarter into three slices. 24 slices total.
Drizzle olive oil over peach slices and both sides of sliced bread. Using a grill or grill pan, toast bread slices on both sides and then peach slices, until each have slight grill marks. Set like ingredients aside.
Roll prosciutto slices into loose flower-shaped rolls, set aside on a plate.
Slice burrata cheese open, dividing more solid part of the cheese into four equal parts. Reserve inner runny part separate from more solid cheese.
With all ingredients lined up, start assembly. Gently spread ¼ of the more solid burrata on a slice of toasted bread. Drizzle with some of the burrata liquid.
