This bright pasta salad is spring on a plate

A great pasta salad is a beautiful thing. It anchors a picnic, potluck or buffet with aplomb. It’s portable, flexible, and easily and often vegetarian.

Pasta salads are also such a nice way to play around with seasonal vegetables, so you can change things up all year. Spring and summer are peak moments to scoop up the great produce at the farmers market, grab a box of pasta, and quickly turn all of it into a crowd-pleasing and easy side or main dish.

SIMPLE VEGETARIAN PASTA SALAD Serves 8

1 pound dried spiral pasta (or cavatappi, ziti, fusilli or other salad-friendly shaped pasta) 2 cups (8 ounces) halved sugar snap peas 2 cups (1-inch pieces) asparagus 2 cups baby or roughly chopped arugula 2 cups baby or roughly chopped spinach 1 bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange), finely diced 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half, or quarters if larger

½ cup sliced scallions ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons mayonnaise ¼ cup rice vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard ½ cup chopped shallots ½ cup slivered fresh basil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste ⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation: Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions, but 1 minute before the pasta is tender, add the snap peas and the asparagus. Cook for 1 minute, then drain the pasta and the vegetables and rinse under cold water. Drain well.

Place the pasta, sugar snap peas and asparagus in a bowl with the arugula, spinach, peppers, tomatoes and scallions.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, shallots, basil, salt and pepper. Pour this dressing over the pasta salad and toss well to combine. Add the Parmesan and toss again. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.