Description
This pasta salad is creamy, tangy, and so easy to make. It makes a great lunch or a light dinner!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 heaping tbsp lemon zest (1 lemon)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (juice of half a lemon)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed
- 2-3 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, dill)
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Pasta Salad:
- 3 cups dry pasta
- 0.5 lb asparagus (200g or about 20 spears), woody ends trimmed and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Persian cucumbers or 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped or sliced
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 cup green sprouts or arugula (optional)
- 5 oz cold smoked salmon
Instructions
Dressing:
- To make the dressing, simply add everything to a jar or a bowl and whisk together until combined. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Pasta Salad:
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to the package directions.
- Towards the end of cooking 3-5 minutes before the pasta is done, toss in the chopped asparagus.
- For the last two minutes of cooking, add the frozen peas. Wait for the pasta to come back to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Strain the pasta, asparagus, and peas, and run under cold water.
- Add to a bowl and drizzle it with a teaspoon of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking. Allow it to cook for 5-10 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the cucumber, shallot, capers, and sprouts (if using) to the pasta.
- Drizzle everything with the dressing and toss gently to coat well.
- Tear the smoked salmon up into bite-sized pieces, add them to the salad and toss again. Alternatively, you can serve the salmon on top of the salad.
- Enjoy right away or store in the fridge until ready to eat.
Notes
The salad is best eaten right away but any leftovers will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days. Store in an airtight container.
You can make the salad dressing ahead of time and store it in an airtight jar in the fridge until ready to use (1-2 days).