Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

Name: Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 250 g Red Lentil Pasta (8.8 oz (250 g) red lentil pasta); 200 g Tomato (2 medium tomatoes, 200 g); 150 g Yellow Onion (1 onion, 150 g); ½ cup Kalamata Olive (1/2 cup (80 g) Kalamata olives); 113 g Spinach (4 oz (113 g) frozen spinach); 113 g Sun-dried Tomatoes (4 oz (113 g) sun dried tomatoes); 100 g Avocado (1 avocado, 100 g); ¼ cup Lemon Juice (1/4 cup (60 g) lemon juice); 6 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (6 tbsp (30 g) nutritional yeast); ¼ cup Pistachios (1/4 cup (30 g) pistachios); 2 tbsp Garlic (2 tbsp (30 g) minced garlic); 1 tsp Table Salt (1 tsp (6 g) salt); ½ cup Water (1/2 cup (120 g) water)

A Mediterranean-inspired pasta salad with sun-dried tomato dressing, Kalamata olives, and spinach, served cold or warm.

30 minItalian

Servings5

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Vegetarian
Vegan
Dairy Free
Pescatarian
Halal
Egg Free

Steps

1Cook your pasta according to its instructions. Drain, and set aside in a large bowl.
2Meanwhile, add your frozen spinach to a small pan over medium heat. Cook until lightly browned and most of the water has cooked off. If you don't mind the higher cost, replace the frozen spinach with either fresh spinach or fresh basil. You do not need to cook the fresh spinach/basil; only cook it if you're using frozen spinach.
3Finely cut your tomatoes into a medium dice, finely dice an onion, and halve your olives. Add all 3 to the bowl with the pasta, and mix. 1 pint (10 oz, 283 g) of cherry tomatoes will also work.
4Add your sun dried tomatoes to the food processor, and pulse until roughly chopped. Add in the spinach and the rest of the dressing ingredients, and blend until well combined. Thin out with water as needed.
5Add the dressing into the pasta bowl, and mix until fully combined. Serve cold or warm.
6To make it nut free, replace the pistachios with pumpkin seeds.
7If you don't have avocado, here's a substitution. Microwave 1/4 cup + 2 tsp (70 g) water in a medium glass for a minute. Add 1/4 cup (30 g) of pistachios (or pumpkin seeds), and let soak for at least 10 minutes. This will yield a similar creaminess and nutritional profile as the 1 medium (100 g) avocado.
8For some protein and omega 3s, I'm adding a can of sardines onto my pasta salad. You can also go with any leftover cooked chicken, beef, turkey, or fish.