Easy Peasy Pasta Salad
I have had food envy. Serious food envy and that is in part to the influencers of Instagram having influenced me (damn you) but all I keep seeing is the tasty-looking pasta salads and dang it! I’ve been craving it for a while now. Even though the weather in London is terrible, except for a few sunny days, I finally had enough ingredients (and the time) to make it, but make it my own ;) Is it terrible that I run a recipe blog, but I was low-key impressed with my cooking skills this time around? Lol.
Ingredients:
150g Penne Pasta
1/3rd of a whole Cucumber
100g Cherry tomatoes
1 Bell Pepper (the more colourful the better)
1 cup of Peas (fresh or frozen)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Runny Honey
Herbes de Provence OR fresh Rosemary and Basil
One clove of garlic (or however much you like!)
Salt
Pepper
Optional:
Feta cheese, Olives, Capers
Method:
First, prep everything: chop up your cherry tomatoes, quarter the cucumber, and finely chop your bell peppers. Set this aside in a large bowl. Prep two pans with water coming to boil. One is for your pasta and one is for your peas.
Next, if you have a penchant for fresh peas, shell them – around 100g will do and add them to a pan with boiling water. Your peas should take around 4 mins to cook or when they have all floated to the surface. It also works with frozen peas if you’re super lazy like me. Drain your peas and set aside to cool down.
Once your pasta has boiled for 12 minutes or until aldente, drain and rinse under cold water to cool down the pasta. When your pasta has cooled enough add to your bowl of cucumber and tomatoes. Now add your peas!
If you have the option, add some feta and olives for a Mediterranean twist!
For the dressing:
One and a half tablespoons of olive oil, half a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, half a tablespoon of herbes de Provence OR some fresh Basil and Rosemary (finely chopped). Then add your finely chopped garlic (to taste) and some salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, a drizzle of honey – the one I used: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Orange Blossom Honey - It’s delicious!
Give everything a good mix and serve.