This is a very clean tasting salad. It’s loaded with lots of fresh spring vegetables and works really well as a side dish or as an entrée. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Pound orecchiette pasta
  • 1 “Bunch” (about 1 cup chopped) fresh asparagus spears, blanched
  • 1 Cup shredded carrots, blanched
  • 1/2 Cup edamame
  • 1 Can artichoke hearts in water, rinsed and drained (sliced in half if needed)
  • 1 Can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 Cup cherry tomatoes, diced
  • Fresh basil, rinsed and roughly chopped, about 1/4 cup
  • The juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • Sea salt and fresh black pepper (to taste)

Preparation

Step 1:

In a sauce pan, cook pasta until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water and place into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2:

In a separate sauce pan, bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil, submerge asparagus spears and shredded carrots for 60-90 seconds. Remove with slotted spoons and place in bowl of ice cold water (to stop cooking process). Veggies should be very bright in color and slightly tender.

Step 3:

To the large mixing bowl with the cooked pasta, add edamame, artichoke hearts, garbanzo beans, and tomatoes then stir.

Step 4:

Now add basil, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and toss.

Step 5:

Serve at room temperature.