Green is my happy colour.
Green smoothies start my mornings off right. Green grass brings back all the best summer memories. Green house plants (read: succulents and cacti only because I don’t have a green thumb) makes me giddy like a child. The WebWork shade of green calls for joyous celebration. A pasta salad doused in a creamy vegan green goddess dressing? Must be a gift from the heavens.
We enjoy seasonal eating but sometimes it’s tricky to decipher which foods are ‘spring’ and which are ‘summer’ around here. Truthfully speaking, I don’t think Vancouver has much of a spring or winter. We dwell in rainy fall for most of the year, then it’s full-blown summer the moment May comes around. Nevertheless, this pasta salad is best when asparagus is in season; I would totally bring a chilled version of this to a summer picnic. Have I told you I love picnics? Picnics on the beach, picnics at the park, picnics in the backyard, picnics next to the sidewalk, ALL PICNICS! I’m making myself way too excited. Deep inhale and exhale.
If you’re a farmers’ market wanderer like us, this vegan green goddess pasta salad is your excuse to buy all the lovely spring asparagus, herbs, local cukes, and peas. I often leave the market with more produce than I have ideas to do with them. This time though, you can tell off any skeptics by saying The Rachels sent you on a mission: to make this pasta salad. It’s fresh, vibrant, portable, shareable, and will bring you to a happy place.
So what’s your happy colour?
- DRESSING*
- 1 large ripe avocado
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1½ cup fresh green herbs**
- Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- ASSEMBLY
- 250g uncooked farfalle pasta (aka bowtie), gluten free if needed
- About 4 asparagus spears, peeled into ribbons
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ½ cup cucumber slices
- In a food processor, blend all the dressing ingredients until very smooth. Adjust consistency by adding about ½ cup water, or more, to reach a pour-able consistency. Set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. 1 minute before the pasta is finish cooking, add the asparagus ribbons and allow it to blanch with the pasta. After 1 minute, add the frozen peas and then drain the pasta.
- Toss the pasta, sauce, and cucumber slices together. Chill for a few hours or serve immediately. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh herbs if desired.
**We used a mix of ¾ cup dill, ½ cup cilantro, and ¼ cup mint
This salad looks so delicious! I love green goddess dressing, especially with fresh herbs. 🙂
Mmmmm love me some green goddess dressing! Amen for the creaminess of avocados! Need this on pasta ASAP!