Recipe Gallery

Green Pasta Salad

This vibrant green pasta salad is full of springtime goodness: podded broad beans, crunchy mange-tout and a zingy herb dressing. To bulk it up and make a proper meal out of it, I’ve added smoked tofu cubes.

The base for this salad are little rice-shaped noodles, known as Greek orzo noodles or Portuguese bagos.

By the way, this green pasta salad is completely vegan, and it will fool anyone as it’s bursting with flavours and very filling too. Perfect for your lunchbox, a picnic or a BBQ side.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

250g orzo pasta
200g frozen edamame beans, podded
200g mange tout beans

For the dressing:
½ shallot
1 small garlic clove, peeled
2 tsp ginger paste
20g coriander
20g mint
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp agave syrup
2 tbsp lime juice
6 tbsp sunflower oil
4 tbsp water
salt and pepper

200g smoked tofu
1 tbsp sunflower oil

Method

Serves 6 – Vegan

Cook the orzo pasta in boiling salted water for 14 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Put the edamame beans in boiling salted water, and bring back to the boil, then cook for 90 seconds and drain under a running cold tap.

Cut the mange tout beans into 2cm-wide slices, then cook in boiling salted water for 4 minutes. Drain under a running cold tap.

Put all the ingredients for the dressing into a small food processor and whizz into a smooth dressing.

Put the cooled orzo pasta, edamame beans and mange tout into a serving bowl, and mix with the dressing. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.

Cut the smoked tofu into cubes and fry in a frying pan with a tablespoon of sunflower oil until golden. Stir through the salad and serve immediately. This salad is also good cold.

TIP: For a non-vegan version, you can serve this salad with a dollop of cottage cheese or a poached egg on the side.