Recipes

Name: Pasta Salad “Verde”
Yield: large servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 cups of cauliflower florets; 1/3 cup of good extra virgin olive oil; Salt and freshly ground pepper; 2 cups of Castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced; 2 cups of cucumber, cut into small dice; 1 cup of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped; 1 1/2 cups of green onion, sliced; 3 tbsp. of lemon thyme, chopped; 2 cups of Feta cheese, crumbled; 1/3 cup of preserved lemon peel, chopped; 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated; 1 lb. of cooked pasta, chilled, any shape; 2 tbsp. of lemon zest; 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice; 2 tsp. of salt; 1 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper; 1 1/2 cups of good extra virgin olive oil

Pasta Salad “Verde”

Course

Salad

Cuisine

American

Pairs With

Carneros Chardonnay
Estate Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast Sauvignon Blanc

Ingredients

Salad:

4 cups of cauliflower florets

1/3 cup of good extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 cups of Castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced

2 cups of cucumber, cut into small dice

1 cup of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 1/2 cups of green onion, sliced

3 tbsp. of lemon thyme, chopped

2 cups of Feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup of preserved lemon peel, chopped

1 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated

1 lb. of cooked pasta, chilled, any shape

Vinaigrette

2 tbsp. of lemon zest

1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. of salt

1 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups of good extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Begin Salad:

Preheat your oven to 450 °F. Place the cauliflower florets into a large bowl and toss with the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Place the florets onto a sheet pan covered in foil. Spread out the florets so they have some space between them- this encourages browning while they roast. Roast the cauliflower for about 8 minutes, then remove from the oven. Stir them around to turn them over and roast for another 5 or 6 minutes or until they are nicely browned and tender. Remove from oven and set aside.
Make Vinaigrette:

Whisk the lemon zest, juice, salt and pepper together with the olive oil. Keep whisking until the vinaigrette has thickened slightly. Set aside.
Put Salad Together:

Place the remaining salad ingredients into a large bowl and toss them together with about half of the vinaigrette. Taste the salad and add more vinaigrette if needed. Makes about 10-12 servings of salad. Extra vinaigrette keeps for about a week when refrigerated.

Notes

Cook's Note: This is a nice salad to bring to a party. It can also be made a day ahead. If made ahead of time, keep the dressing separate- then and add it and toss the salad just before serving. If cucumber is not available, celery is a great substitute.