If you like your pasta salad on the light side, without lots of mayo or creamy sauce, A Salad of Pasta, Spring Vegetables & Tomatoes could be just the one you’ve been hoping for. It’s loaded with unexpected flavor from a hint of orange, thyme and ginger.
Let’s start at the beginning…
The first – and most important – step in the making of this delicious salad is the process of roasting the tomatoes. Every drop from the roasting pan will eventually be added to the mix to create the most flavorful “dressing” imaginable. Here’s what you’ll need…
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Orange zest
- Fresh thyme
- Olive oil
- Freshly squeezed orange juice
- Light brown sugar
- Peeled garlic cloves
- Fresh ginger
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on a 13″ x 9″ baking pan or dish.
- Place the pieces of orange zest and fresh thyme within the tomatoes so that they are evenly spaced throughout the pan.
- In a small bowl, mix the olive oil and orange juice with the brown sugar.
- Add the garlic cloves, ginger strips, salt and a pinch of pepper.
- Once combined, pour mixture evenly over the pan of tomatoes.
- Gently toss to be sure everything is coated.
- Roast at 325°F for 50 to 60 minutes.
- Gently toss mixture every 20 minutes, until tomatoes are tender and just bursting but still intact.
- Pluck out and discard thyme and orange zest.
- Set tray aside.
While the tomatoes are roasting…
Since the tomatoes need about an hour in the oven, it’s a good time to get started on the spring vegetables.
- Spring onions
- Sugar snap peas, trimmed & halved
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- If your sugar snap peas are on the small side, they can be left whole.
- Otherwise, give them a quick cut to halve each one.
- If you haven’t done so already, prep the spring onions.
- Separate the spring onion stems from the bulbs.
- Cut the stems in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 2” pieces.
- Slice the bulbs through root end into quarters.
- If your spring onions are very large, the bulbs will need to be further cut into more manageable pieces
So …what are spring onions?
According to the folks at Fine Cooking …Spring onions are bulb (storage) onions harvested early when they have a small, tender bulb. They aren’t dried for storage and are milder than full-size dried storage onions. You’ll usually find them at farmers’ markets and occasionally at the supermarket.
Can scallions be used in place of spring onions?
Even though they are quite different, in a pinch they can be used interchangeably. Check this out …an informative article on that very subject.
I happened to come across some beautiful spring onions at my local Whole Foods and had to grab them. They were quite a bit larger than the norm, but still delicious. When prepping, I had to cut the bulb into about sixteen slices so that each piece was bite-sized.
- If you’re not able to find spring onions, that’s okay.
- I’ve made this salad using a bunch of scallions, cut them down to 2-inch pieces.
- The end result was still so good.
- Use the guideline of a total of 8-ounces for the best outcome.
- Heat a dry medium skillet, preferably cast iron, over high heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, then add the sugar snap peas so that they are spread out in a single layer.
- Cook, tossing once, until charred on both sides, about 4 minutes.
- Transfer to a large bowl.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same skillet.
- Add the spring onion stems and bulbs, arranging in a single layer.
- Cook, tossing once, until charred, for about 4 minutes.
- Transfer to the bowl with the sugar snap peas; season to taste with salt.
- Set the bowl of veggies aside.
Check out those roasted tomatoes.
- Allow them to cool a bit.
- Pick out and discard the pieces of orange zest and thyme stems.
- Everything else is preserved.
- You need all of those bits of roasted garlic & ginger along with the wonderful pan juices for the salad.
The remaining ingredients you’ll need for your salad assembly…
- Casarecce, fusilli or penne cooked until al dente
- Kosher salt
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Fresh basil
- Fresh mint
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
There’s very little prep left to be done…
- Your al dente pasta should be cooling on the side.
- Slice up the fresh basil and mint.
- Gather up your prepared ingredients.
- Transfer the cooled pasta to a very large bowl.
- Add the tomato mixture, sugar snap peas and spring onions to the pasta.
- Along with the lemon juice, 1½ cups basil, and 1 cup of mint.
- Toss gently to combine so that you don’t break up the tomatoes too much.
- Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired.
You’re about to enjoy A Salad of Pasta, Spring Vegetables & Tomatoes.
We must give thanks to Yotam Ottolenghi for this awesome combination of flavorful ingredients.
You won’t find it in any of his cookbooks. It was featured in an issue of Bon Appétit from several years ago. So glad I happened to save it.
This salad can be served while still warm, slightly chilled or at room temperature.
Add some grilled chicken or shrimp …I’d call that a meal. A delicious one, at that.
a salad of pasta, spring vegetables & tomatoes
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Pasta Salad with Spring Vegetables and Tomatoes, as featured in Bon Appétit
Ingredients
For the Tomatoes
- 4 cups cherry and/or grape tomatoes (about 24 ounces0
- 3 2-inch strips of orange zest
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 6 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 9 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
- 1 3-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, cut into very thin matchsticks
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
For the Peas & Onions
- 8 ounces spring onions (about 2 or 3 large)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed & halved (about 3 cups)
- kosher salt
For Salad Assembly
- 12 ounces casarecce, fusilli or penne
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced mint, divided
- freshly ground black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Instructions
For the Tomatoes
-
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on a 13" x 9" baking pan or dish. Place the pieces of orange zest and fresh thyme within the tomatoes so that they are evenly spaced throughout the pan. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil and orange juice with the brown sugar. Add the garlic cloves, ginger strips, salt and a pinch of pepper. Once combined, pour mixture evenly over the pan of tomatoes. Gently toss to be sure everything is coated.
-
Roast, gently tossing mixture every 20 minutes, until tomatoes are tender and just bursting but still intact, for 50 to 60 minutes. Pluck out and discard thyme and orange zest. Set tray aside.
For the Peas & Onions
-
Separate the spring onion stems from the bulbs. Cut the stems in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 2” pieces. Slice the bulbs through root end into quarters. If your spring onions are very large, the bulbs will need to be further cut into more manageable pieces.
Heat a dry medium skillet, preferably cast iron, over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, then add the sugar snap peas so that they are spread out in a single layer. Cook, tossing once, until charred on both sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
-
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same skillet. Add the spring onion stems and bulbs, arranging in a single layer. Cook, tossing once, until charred, for about 4 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the sugar snap peas; season to taste with salt.
Salad Assembly
-
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and let cool, tossing around now and again to make sure it’s not sticking.
-
Add the tomato mixture, sugar snap peas and spring onions, lemon juice, 1½ cups basil, and 1 cup mint to the pasta. Toss gently to combine (you don’t want to break up the tomatoes too much); season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired.
-
Serve pasta salad topped with remaining ½ cup basil and ½ cup mint and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Can be enjoyed warm, slightly chilled or at room temperature.
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