Green pasta salad with edible flowers
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
10 mins
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Total Time
20 mins
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Servings
4
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Calories
475 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Salad
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Cuisine
Mediterranean, Italian
Green pasta salad with edible flowers
Description
Green pasta salad with edible flowers uses cooked fusilli pasta mixed with blanched spring onions and a sauce made from blended fresh herbs like parsley, mint, marjoram, and spinach. Toasted pine nuts contribute a toasty depth, while olive oil ties the sauce together. The pasta and sauce are combined and seasoned with salt and pepper. Edible flowers are used for garnish, enhancing visual appeal.
The salad offers a light, fresh taste with textures from tender pasta, slight crunch from pine nuts, and aromatic herbs. Cooking the spring onions with pasta briefly and cooling both under running water stops cooking and preserves texture.
This salad can be served chilled or at room temperature, making it suitable as a side dish or light meal. Leaving out Parmigiano cheese or substituting with vegan options makes it appropriate for vegan or vegetarian diets.
Ingredients
- 360 g fusilli pasta (12-13oz) or other short pasta
- 100 g baby spinach leaves (3.5oz)
- 2-3 spring onions
- 1 handful parsley fresh
- 1-2 prigs mint fresh
- 1 prig marjoram fresh
- 50 g pine nuts (2oz) toasted
- 50 g Parmigiano Cheese leave out for vegan version. Strict vegetarians should use a vegetarian cheese, flakes
- extra virgin olive oil as required
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- Edible Flowers as required
Instructions
Prepare the pasta and spring onions
- Clean the spring onion and remove ⅔ of the green part. Bring plenty of water to a boil in a pot, add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
- Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. 5 minutes before the pasta is cooked, add the spring onion to the pot.
- Save a little of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta and spring onion. Cool them under cold running water. Put the pasta into a bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well
Make the sauce
- While you are waiting for the pasta water to boil and the pasta to cook, wash and dry the parsley, marjoram and mint. Wash and dry the spinach leaves. Toast the pine nuts in a non-stick frying pan, for 1-2 minutes.
- Put the herbs and half the spinach leaves into a blender with some olive oil and pulse a few times. Add the blanched spring onion and a little more oil and pulse again. Add half the toasted pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse again. If the sauce seems dry add some more olive oil or a dash of the pasta cooking water.
Make the salad
- Add the sauce to the pasta and mix. Add the remaining pine nuts to the pasta with the remaining spinach leaves and the thinly sliced Parmesan cheese flakes.Mix the cold pasta and sauce with the pine nuts, spinach and cheese and serve decorated with edible flowers if you have them..
Notes
- Omit the Parmigiano cheese or substitute with vegan/vegetarian cheese alternatives to keep this salad vegan or vegetarian.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 475 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 475kcal | 24% |
| Carbohydrates | 71g | 24% |
| Protein | 19g | 38% |
| Fat | 13g | 20% |
| Saturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 5g | 29% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Cholesterol | 9mg | 3% |
| Sodium | 227mg | 9% |
| Potassium | 451mg | 10% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 3g | 6% |
| Vitamin A | 2616IU | 52% |
| Vitamin C | 10mg | 11% |
| Calcium | 200mg | 20% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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