 | This recipe has several steps, but each is very easy and in the end you just throw it all together. It is a very hearty, tasty meal in itself. Just serve with good bread. It is also very healthy, giving you your veg, carbohydrate and protein all at once. While not low fat, the fat is mostly good fat.
The strong, zippy taste and fresh look will tempt flagging appetites in the summer heat -- but the salad is also hearty enough to be satisfying in the winter.
To blow them away, serve on the table in a glass bowl if you have one because the salad also looks fabulous.
If you have fresh parsley, use 2 tablespoons chopped instead of 1 tablespoon dried.
You can easily substitute the asparagus for 1/2 pound (225g) of green or yellow beans.
Use a shaped pasta, such as penne, etc.
What you use for salad leaves is up to you; we've written Rocket (arugula) above, but you could also use mesclun mix, easily available in most UK and North American supermarkets these days. Basically, you want a salad leaf with a bit of bite in it to stand up to the olive tapenade, so poor old iceberg lettuce probably wouldn't do it, though you could try.
Ingredients
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Directions
For this recipe, you basically prepare each of the items, then whack them all together.
TAPENADE DRESSING: First, you need tapenade. If you don't have any to hand, either buy some at the store, or see the easy blender recipe on this site.
Put your 4 or 5 tablespoons of tapenade in a bowl, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a dash of red wine vinegar, and stir.
EGGS: Hard boil the eggs. (If you are feeding a lot of good appetites, you can use 5 or 6 eggs). Do it the way you know, or, place eggs in a saucepan, cover in cold water, bring to a boil on the stove, then reduce immediately to a low simmer for 5 minutes. Drain them, and set aside to cook. When cool, shell them and cut into quarters.
GREEN ONIONS: Trim off the roots and the upper ends, and chop.
CHERRY TOMATOES: Wash, and cut them in half
SALAD LEAVES: Wash and let drain / dry.
PASTA: Boil it according to package directions and drain.
Now, put it all together.
While pasta is still warm, toss it with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the chopped spring onion. Add the asparagus (or green beans), tomatoes, parsley, tapenade dressing, and toss again.
MAKE AHEAD TIP: At this point, you could refrigerate the salad for completion later in the day. If you refrigerate, bring it back up to room temperature before serving.
Just before serving, add the salad leaves and toss well, then place salad in a bowl and top with the quartered eggs.
See Also
Pasta for Salads
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