Delicious Pasta Salad

5 from 3 votes

This is the best pasta salad I've ever made. This recipe is based on Giada De Laurentiis' recipe called Sardinian Pasta Salad. Use fresh vegetables and your favorite pasta. The dressing is unique and delicious. Fresh Burrata adds incredible silky texture but you can add small fresh mozzarella balls to the bowl before serving if needed for a larger crowd.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Meatless Main Dish, Salad

Keyword: pasta, salad, vegetarian,

Servings:

Calories: 633kcal

Author: Sally Humeniuk

Ingredients

Salad Dressing Ingredients

3 large shallots no need to cut them
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup avocado oil or other light oil like canola
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp kosher salt or sea salt

Pasta Salad Ingredients

½ pound haricots verts, French green beans or regular green beans, trimmed into 1-inch pieces.
½ pound asparagus spears trimmed into 1-inch pieces, using only the top 2 or 3 inches of the asparagus. Save the rest for another use, like soup, etc.
½ pound favorite pasta rotini or torchiette work well
¾ cup shelled edamame
1 cup cherry tomatoes, (quartered) more if desired
2 tbsp tarragon leaves chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves chopped, more as desired
1 pound fresh burrata 2 whole balls cut into thirds
Flake salt like Maldon

Instructions

Make the dressing:

Place the shallots, olive oil, and avocado oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook the shallots gently for 25 minutes, until a knife is easily inserted all the way through the shallots (the shallots should be very soft). Remove from the heat and allow them to cool to room temperature.
Place the softened shallots along with ½ cup of the oil, the cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and kosher salt in a food processor. Process until smooth. Taste and add salt if needed. Set aside.

Make the salad:

To prepare the salad, bring two medium saucepans of salted water to a boil. One will be for your pasta and one to blanch the beans and asparagus. Fill a bowl with cold water and ice, and set it aside.
Add the pasta to one pot of boiling water, and allow to cook until al dente (you may add extra water to this one to flavor the pasta). In the second pan, add the green beans and let them boil for one minute. Add the asparagus to the green beans and boil two minutes more. Using a strainer or sieve, remove the beans and asparagus and place them in the ice water until the pasta is done cooking.
Drain the pasta, add to a large bowl and add ½ cup of the dressing. Drain the green beans and asparagus and add to pasta along with edamame, quartered cherry tomatoes, tarragon leaves and fresh basil. Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and toss gently.
Divide the salad onto serving plates, top with burrata thirds. Spoon more dressing as desired onto the burrata and sprinkle finished salad with flake salt. Enjoy.

Notes

Use a pasta that holds dressing well. Something with ridges or spiraled.
It's important to simmer the shallots until they're very soft so you get a smooth dressing when processed.
If desired, you may toss mozzarella pearls into the salad and add a bit more dressing and salt if you don't want to bother with the burrata, however, I strongly recommend it.
Quantities listed for the beans, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and edamame may be changed to your liking. Quantities listed are approximate.
The salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days after making, though you may need to add more dressing as the pasta soaks up a bit of it.

Nutrition