Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad with Walnuts and Capers

 

Summer weather is always a bit of a crapshoot. Some years June arrives with relentless heat, only to give us a pleasant July. Other years it’s just the opposite. This year, however, June treated us kindly with mild temperatures and plenty of rain. My late-planted arugula absolutely loved it, growing faster than I could keep up with. But with a stretch of near-100-degree days in the forecast, I knew it was time to harvest.

I first discovered arugula more than a decade ago while Mr. O-P and I were living in London and working at the British Library. There, no one called it arugula, it was simply rocket (or roquette, derived from its Latin name). It seemed to find its way into everything from sandwiches to salads, and before long I understood why.

 Its peppery bite can be a bit of an acquired taste, but once you fall for it, you’ll find endless ways to enjoy it. It makes a wonderful pesto, adds personality to an ordinary green salad, and is especially delicious tossed with pasta.

 This Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad was an instant favorite. In fact, I could easily have polished off the entire bowl in one sitting. The only thing that stopped me was the realization that my digestive system might have had a few opinions about that decision! Ahem. Moderation won out, although it wasn’t easy.

 The bright lemon dressing, peppery arugula, salty capers, crunchy walnuts, and nutty Parmesan come together in a salad that’s cool, crisp, refreshing, and packed with flavor. It’s perfect for summer lunches, picnics, or as a light side dish alongside grilled chicken or fish. 

Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad

Adapted from onthebias.nyc

 8 oz. farfalle, cooked and rinsed

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 T. white balsamic vinegar

2 t. Dijon mustard

½ c. walnuts, finely chopped

1 T. capers, plus 1 t. caper brine

1 t. kosher salt

½ t. sugar 

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

8 T. extra-virgin olive oil

⅓ c. finely grated Parmesan

3½ oz. arugula (homegrown or Melissa’s)

6 basil leaves, cut chiffonade

 Cook the pasta according to package directions, allowing it to cook just past al dente. Drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water to stop the cooking process.

 In a large serving bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and zest, white balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, chopped walnuts, capers, caper brine, salt, sugar, pepper, and olive oil. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese.

 Add the cooled pasta and toss until well coated.

Fold in the arugula and basil, if using, just before serving.

Serve chilled or at cool room temperature.

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Summer Pasta Salad

Last week was a crazy one. I’m not going to get into the details, but I will tell you that at one point, I decided to touch up the woodwork in the bedroom, and ended up painting it all! That was a lost day. At any rate, the deck garden is doing well, and cucumbers and green peppers are ripening in leaps and bounds. In addition to dicing and slicing the peppers to freeze for use during the winter, I’ve also used them just serve pasta salad with great results. Look how cute these are. It serves a dual purpose of using up one of my many (way too many) peppers, and saves me washing a dish, not to mention delighting my lunch guests with this clever edible “bowl.”

I had intended for this post just to be a brief one on a rather unique use for green pepper, but I thought I would toss in my recipe for pasta salad as well. I liked this one in particular, because I found the addition of dried cherries to be quite a pleasing one. I tossed them into the salad dressing to hydrate them a bit, and then mixed everything together. Wonderful!

Summer Pasta Salad

4 whole red, yellow, or green peppers

Dressing

1 T. Melissa’s Dried Tart Cherries

2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup olive oil

½ t. kosher salt

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

½ t. dried oregano 

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 c. tri-color rotini, cooked according to package directions

½ c. cherry tomatoes, halved

1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 English cucumber, seeded and diced

12 pitted Kalamata olives

½ cup diced red onion

1 c. feta cheese, crumbled

½ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Cut the tops off of the peppers, as well as a tiny bit off the bottom to allow them to stand upright. Seed and remove any white pithy parts. Rinse and invert onto a paper towel to dry while you make the salad.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic until thick and creamy; add cherries and chill. In a large mixing bowl combine pasta, tomatoes, green pepper, cucumber, olives, red onion, feta cheese, and parsley. Toss salad ingredients with dressing gently to coat. Scoop into hollowed out peppers and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

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