Even if you aren't a fan of pasta salad, this hearty lunch bowl with plenty of veggies will change your mind. It's full of lots of fresh, crunchy beans, herbs, and tomatoes, and a touch of decadent, creamy burrata puts it over the top. Fregola is a small Italian pasta from Sardinia; it looks similar to Israeli or pearl couscous.

You'll have extra dressing left over; use it with any kind of warm or cold salad or vegetable dish. It will keep for up to five days, tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Sardinian Pasta Salad
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Sardinian Pasta Salad

Category

Main Course

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Image of Sardinian Pasta Salad

Ingredients

    For The Dressing:

  • 3 large shallots
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

    • For The Salad:

  • Kosher salt
  • ¼ pound green beans, (trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces)
  • ¼ pound wax beans, (trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (or substitute with more green beans))
  • ½ cup frozen shelled edamame, (thawed)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, (quartered)
  • 2 tablespoons tarragon leaves, (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, (chopped)
  • 1 pound fresh burrata, (2 whole balls cut in half)
  • Flake salt, (such as Maldon)

Instructions

  1. For the dressing, place the shallots, olive oil, and vegetable oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook the shallots gently for 25 minutes, or until they are completely soft all the way through. Remove from the heat and allow them to cool to room temperature.
  2. Place the softened shallots, ½ cup of the oil, the vinegar, mustard, and salt in a small food processor. Pulse until the shallots are finely chopped and the dressing is thick. Set aside.
  3. To prepare the salad, bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with water and ice, and set it aside. Add the green beans and wax beans to the boiling water and blanch until the color is bright and they are just losing their raw flavor, about 3 minutes. Drain and cool in the ice water.
  4. Bring another saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the fregola to the boiling water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is cooked through. Drain well and place in a large bowl. Add 1/3 cup of the dressing to the bowl and toss to coat. Allow the fregola to cool slightly. Drain the beans and add to the fregola along with the edamame, cherry tomatoes, tarragon, basil, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt, toss gently to coat. Divide the salad among 4 plates and serve topped with a burrata half and sprinkled with flake salt.
nut free
vegetarian