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Caesar Pasta Salad with Crisp Veg

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The perfect pasta salad for summer loaded with crispy veggies and a pistachio caesar dressing.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb asparagus, woody ends lopped off
  • 12 oz snow or sugar snap peas, strings removed
  • 1 small bunch radishes, scrubbed and stemmed
  • 7 sprigs fresh tarragon
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2-3 large lemons
  • 8 ounces short pasta such as paccheri or rigatoni
  • ⅓ cup raw shelled pistachios plus more for serving
  • 4 oil-packed anchovies
  • 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 cup baby arugula
  • 3 oz grated Parmigiano reggiano plus more for serving

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Make sure it's salty like the sea! The veg will need it. Prepare a large bowl filled with lots of ice and cold water.
  • Thinly slice your asparagus and snow, or snap peas on the bias. Once boiling, add the veg to the water and cook until tender, but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and transfer to the ice bath and stop the cooking. Thinly slice the radishes, and add them to the icy water bath as well. Keep them there while you prep the rest.
  • Now add the pasta to that same pot of water. Cook the pasta according to package directions–because you will be eating this cold, I tend to cook my pasta a bit more than I would if it were being eaten hot. Al dente doesn’t always translate. Drain well and rinse under cold water to cool it off. Pat dry, and then transfer to a large bowl. Lightly drizzle with olive oil to avoid sticking.
  • MAKE THE PISTACHIO CAESAR:
  • In the bowl of a food processor, mix ⅓ cup pistachios and 2 large garlic cloves until the pistachios are finely chopped.
  • Add 4 oil-packed anchovies, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, leaves of 4 large sprigs of tarragon, the zest of 1 lemon, and ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from about two lemons). Mix again until a paste forms.
  • Drizzle in ⅓ cup olive oil and 1 tablespoon ice water, with the motor still running, and process until a creamy thick dressing forms. If it gets too thick, you can add a teaspoon or two of ice water (from the bowl of veg!) to help thin it a bit until it’s creamy like caesar. Season the dressing with lots of salt and pepper.
  • DRESS AND SERVE:
  • Drain all of the vegetables from their ice bath and pat dry with a dry kitchen towel–the drier the better so the dressing doesn’t get watery. Transfer to the bowl with the pasta. Squeeze the remaining half a lemon over everything and season well with salt before you add the dressing–this will help ensure the vegetables are seasoned, not just dressed.
  • Add about half of the dressing to the bowl along with another pinch of salt and some more black pepper. Toss very well to coat the veg. Keep adding dressing as needed (you may not need all of it) until it feels generously coated but not gloopy.
  • Stir in 3 ounces grated parmigiano reggiano. Pick the leaves of the rest of the 3 large sprigs of tarragon. Toss everything once more. Taste. Does it need more lemon? More salt or pepper? More cheese?
  • Finish with more chopped pistachios and then serve promptly for optimal crispiness and snapiness!

Notes

This recipe is from Molly Baz, and can be found here in "the club" - her site is full of great recipes. https://mollybaz.com/spring-caesar-pasta-salad/.  I changed a few things, used fewer anchovies, a little more lemon, added arugula, and omitted the mint.  
Also note - she calls for unsalted pistachio's, and mine were salted, so I adjusted the seasoning accordingly - you can do the same.