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Food And Nutrition

Avocado pasta with peas and mint

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Ingredients

  • 375g/13oz pasta, such as penne or fusilli
  • 1 large avocado (or 2 small)
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 lemon, juice and zest
  • 6 fresh mint leaves
  • 150g/5½oz fresh peas (or frozen and defrosted)
  • 1 large red chilli (optional)

Method

  1. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.

  2. Destone the avocado, then put the avocado flesh, garlic, coconut oil, salt, lemon juice, zest and mint leaves into a blender with 4 tablespoons of water. (Alternatively, you can put everything in a bowl or pan and use a stick blender.)

  3. Blend until you get a smooth paste. If you find the mixture is struggling to move, add another tablespoon of water and try again. Put the pasta into a serving bowl and pour over the sauce. Add the peas and mix until all the pasta is coated in green goodness.

  4. For a little kick, I like to take a red chilli and grate it over the top. This is optional, but worth doing if you like chilli!

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Food And Nutrition

How To Make the Best Pasta Salad Without Mayo

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The Best Pasta for Pasta Salad

The best pasta for pasta salad isn’t actually elbow macaroni, which is susceptible to sogginess. Instead choose a small, short pasta like fusilli or even penne. Dry pasta — not fresh or frozen (sorry, tortellini!) — will hold up much better to dressing, storage, and stirring.

Boil the pasta to al dente as recommended by the manufacturer in nicely salted water. Then drain and rinse, but don’t “shock” the pasta as it tends to water log the pasta and rinse away flavor. Instead, have your pasta salad’s dressing ready to go when the pasta is done and dress the salad soon after rinsing. The pasta will absorb more flavor this way.

Post Image

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

An Oil-Heavy Vinaigrette Creates a Creamy Texture

Have you ever heard the saying, fat is where the flavor’s at? It is entirely true. Fat, be it oil or mayonnaise, is a vehicle for flavor. Instead of dressing your mayo-free salad with more vinegar or vegetables or herbs to get flavor from it, add more oil. Soft cheese helps, too (more on that below).

For this pasta salad, make a vinaigrette that is 50/50 acid for oil. Then coat the pasta with half of the vinaigrette. This half is going to be absorbed by the pasta and also seasons the vegetables. The second half should go on relatively close to serving so that the pasta doesn’t absorb the oil and become simultaneously soggy and dry.

Post Image

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

Adding Vegetables? You’re Gonna Have to Cook Some

  • Raw: cherry tomatoes, cucumber, finely diced red onion, sliced green onion
  • Jarred: roasted red peppers, pimento peppers, olives
  • Blanched: asparagus, green beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower
  • Roasted: raw peppers of all shapes, sizes, and flavors

Pro tip: Do your diners a favor and chop the vegetables close to the same size as the pasta. This makes it easier to get a little bit of all the good stuff in each bite.

Additional Pasta Salad Flair

Herbs: Both dry and fresh herbs are welcome in pasta salad. Dry herbs do best in the vinaigrette and hold up well in advance. Fresh herbs should be added just before serving to avoid turning brown.

Soft cheese: Notice I didn’t say “any cheese” here. Please skip the grated cheddar, the mozzarella pearls, or cubes of Swiss cheese. Instead, use a soft spreadable cheese, such as goat cheese or herbed Boursin, and work it into the salad. The rich creaminess will add more fat and more flavor in the absence of mayo.

Toasted nuts: Add nuts with caution, as they too can cause textural confusion. Something small or finely chopped works well. I’m particularly fond of toasted pine nuts and pepitas.

Pro tip: Be sure to taste and season the salad at different temperatures. You’ll probably need more salt than you think if serving the salad cold.

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Food And Nutrition

Preparing Yorkshire pudding

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Food And Nutrition

Preparing Caponata

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This authentic caponata is somewhere between a stew and a salad. Sweet and sour aubergines mix with salty olives, capers and tangy tomatoes. Best eaten at room temperature or just warm, this is our dream lunch, served with crusty ciabatta.

Ingredients

  • 4 medium aubergines, chopped into 2cm/1in cubes
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, chopped
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 100g/3½oz green olives
  • 3 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1½ tbsp sugar, or to taste
  • handful flatleaf parsley, chopped
  • extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
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