Fast and easy pasta salad with fresh herbs
In the post-work scramble to get meals on the table — or even just onto a plate to be eaten on the couch — a cookbook that claims its recipes can be finished in a half-hour has a lot of appeal. Andso,when Easy30-minute
Meals (Ryland Peters & Small, $23.95) made its way onto my desk, I was eager to give it a chance. I decided to make Pea, Prosciutto and Pasta Salad made with a generous sprinkling of fresh herbs.
I timed the effort, clocking in 36 minutes of cooking time from start to finish (including all the chopping and water boiling). I don’t begrudge those extra six minutes; it was still a pretty fast recipe to put together. Pea, Prosciutto, and Pasta Salad
Serves: 6
3½ cups pasta shape of your choice, such as orecchiette, fusilli or farfalle 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 3½ oz. prosciutto or bacon slices
21/3 cups frozen or fresh peas
2 Tbsps. extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbsps. white wine vinegar 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 2 Tbsps. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 Tbsps. fresh chervil or tarragon, chopped 2 Tbsps. chopped mint sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, add plenty of salt and return to the boil. Cook the pasta of your choice according to instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the prosciutto and peas and cook for a further 5 minutes until the peas are tender. (Fresh peas will need slightly less cooking time.)
In a bowl, mix together the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and mustard to make the dressing.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and refresh with cold water to cool a little.
Combine the pasta with the pea and prosciutto mixture, dressing, parsley, chervil and mint and toss to coat.
Arrange the salad on serving plates and serve immediately.