Sunday, September 11, 2011

Pasta salad with Lemon and Peanut dressing

Come Summer I am going more towards anything light for lunch. And that means soups and salads to the rescue. I love salads with lots of colorful veggies and something substantial like pasta or paneer to make a whole meal in itself. The lemon peanut dressing in this salad is very simple yet gives a lot a flavour combined with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 
Ingredients:
Serves - 3 or 4
Pasta - any short cut variety like rotelle - 2 cups
Chopped Vegetables -1 to 1 1/2 cups - I used chopped celery, carrots, cucumbers and red bell peppers
For the dressing:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) - 1/4 cup - Oriental sesame oil can be used
Fresh Lemon juice - 3 tsp
Lemon zest - from one lemon
Brown sugar - 1/2 tsp
Peanuts - roasted and crushed - 2 tbsp - Black sesame seeds can also be used
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al-dente (cooked but not too soft). Drain and set aside. Dry roast the peanuts until toasted. Allow to cool and remove the skin. Pulse in the blender until coarsely powdered. For the dressing, whisk together the EVOO and lemon juice until frothy. Add the lemon zest, brown sugar, crushed peanuts and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside. Mix the cooked cooled pasta and the chopped vegetables. Top the salad with the dressing when ready to serve. Give a gentle toss and serve in individual bowls.
Note: This salad is super tasty and absolutely satisfying. Practically any vegetable can be added. The pasta may be rinsed after draining. Technically rinsing the pasta after cooking is not recommended since the resident starch in the pasta allows the sauce to stick to the pasta and impart greater flavor. But for pasta salads, you may rinse the pasta to avoid the extra starch.
Check out my other Soups and Salad recipes here.
I am sending this to Monthly Mingle - Scintillating SaladsB2B - Basic Chutneys and to Fast Food to Fat Food event.
Sending this to Srivalli's Soups and Salads Mela

36 comments:

  1. Looks yum! I have the same bowl. I got mine from Walmart :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Salad looks so inviting and that is nice tip.

    Cheers,
    Uma

    ReplyDelete
  3. nice salad...yummy

    -Aarthi @munchmunchcrunchcrunch
    New Event - HLI-DATES

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pasta Salad looks delicious, colorful and irresistibly tempting.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

    ReplyDelete
  5. loved your dressing and have bookmarked!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice recipe ...love the lemon n peanut touch ...

    ReplyDelete
  7. healthy treat .. love the colors and texture of salad :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice one Krithi.Capable of what it meant to be a salad.Appetizing !

    ReplyDelete
  9. perfect colorful salad n yumm dressing..

    ReplyDelete
  10. PAsta salad looks colorful and superb..

    ReplyDelete
  11. wow wonderful version of salad,love the recipe...luks tempting...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Super delicious salad, quite filling,seriously love that dressing..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Salad looks so fresh & COLORFUL!! Loved the citrus-y flavor :))
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

    ReplyDelete
  14. Woww.. looks so beautiful and tempting.. awesome pictures too :)
    Indian Cuisine

    ReplyDelete
  15. Super delicious one and very beautifully clicked.

    ReplyDelete
  16. salad looks delicious....colourful...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nice and very refreshing salad...perfect for the summers...

    ReplyDelete
  18. a unique and lovely salad, those pasta have a cute shape..nice recipe..

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wonderful salad.Looks so refreshing and yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kirthi,this is such a wholesome salad,loved the use of lemon zest and the refreshing flavor it will impart to this salad:)

    ReplyDelete
  21. It looks amazing.I would consider it as yummy lunch:)

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is just my kind of pasta .. light dressing ... hardly any cheese .. and some green veggies.

    ReplyDelete
  23. wow..Healthy and yummy pasta salad...

    ReplyDelete
  24. hi krithi, pretty looking pasta and salad mix ingredients. just flavorful

    ReplyDelete
  25. Mmmhhh, a great salad and cmbination of flavors! Great.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  26. Krithi!!!! Absolutely fantastic recipe! :D
    -
    Kavi | Edible Entertainment

    ReplyDelete
  27. looks delicious -please link to the fast food event this time hosted by Archana of Mad Scientist's kitchen :) cheers, priya

    ReplyDelete
  28. beautiful pasta salad love it dear Krithi...

    an award is waiting for you at my space...

    http://anuzhealthykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/06/awards.html

    ReplyDelete
  29. looks fabulous..healthy and tasty :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. My favorite food is pasta .. love the salad Krithi.

    Vardhini
    Event: Herbs and Flowers - Garlic

    ReplyDelete
  31. i love the addition of peanuts in this salad ! yumm

    ReplyDelete

Do leave your valuable comments here!
I appreciate any critical comment which helps improve my posts, although inappropriate and rude comments will not be published.