Asparagus Pasta Salad with homemade Italian dressing
I had a craving for a bright, summery pasta salad using some of the wonderful asparagus they had on sale at Sprouts this week so I made this up today. Always better to let it marinate overnight before eating it so that the flavors have time to meld.
I used some feta cheese in today's salad but you could easily use Parmesan or goat cheese instead or to make the salad vegan, just omit the cheese. It is all about personal preference!
Dressing
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Salad
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 lb of pasta (whatever kind you want!)
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup frozen peas
1. Fill a large sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. when there is only 1-2 minutes cooking time left, add the asparagus to the pasta water so the asparagus is tender but still nice and crisp.
2. Drain and rinse pasta and asparagus with very cold water. Mix this with the rest of the salad stuff (except for the cheese) in a large bowl
3. In a separate bowl, mix together all the dressing ingredients and whisk until everything is all mixed together. Pour dressing over the pasta mix and stir until the salad is fully coated with the dressing. You can add the cheese if you are using feta or goat cheese but if you are using Parmesan, I'd wait until right before you serve it. Cover the salad and refrigerate. While you could eat it right away, it really benefits from about 24 hours in the fridge so all the flavors fully develop.
I used some feta cheese in today's salad but you could easily use Parmesan or goat cheese instead or to make the salad vegan, just omit the cheese. It is all about personal preference!
Dressing
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Salad
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 lb of pasta (whatever kind you want!)
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup frozen peas
1. Fill a large sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. when there is only 1-2 minutes cooking time left, add the asparagus to the pasta water so the asparagus is tender but still nice and crisp.
2. Drain and rinse pasta and asparagus with very cold water. Mix this with the rest of the salad stuff (except for the cheese) in a large bowl
3. In a separate bowl, mix together all the dressing ingredients and whisk until everything is all mixed together. Pour dressing over the pasta mix and stir until the salad is fully coated with the dressing. You can add the cheese if you are using feta or goat cheese but if you are using Parmesan, I'd wait until right before you serve it. Cover the salad and refrigerate. While you could eat it right away, it really benefits from about 24 hours in the fridge so all the flavors fully develop.
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