Minestrone Salad
A hearty pasta salad combining tender fingerling potatoes, crisp green beans, asparagus, and pasta tossed with pesto, cannellini beans, and roasted peppers. This fresh take on minestrone transforms the classic Italian soup into a satisfying cold salad.
Ingredients
- •12 ounces fingerling or baby red potatoes
- •8 ounces green beans
- •1 pound asparagus
- •1 pound gemelli or tubetti
- •½ cup pesto
- •15½ ounces cannellini beans
- •6 ounces roasted peppers
- •to taste salt and pepper
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
1. Place 12 ounces fingerling or baby red potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Spread them out on a baking sheet to cool, then slice the potatoes into 1/2-inch coins.
15 min
- 2.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Add 8 ounces green beans, cut in half, and 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces so they're about the size of the pasta you're using, and blanch the vegetables just until they're bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Scoop the vegetables out of the hot water with a spider or a strainer, rinse them with cold water, and submerge them in the ice water until completely cool, then drain, pat dry, and set aside.
10 min
- 3.
3. Add 1 pound gemelli or tubetti (or any short pasta you choose) to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and put it in a large bowl to cool a bit.
12 min
- 4.
4. Toss in the potatoes, asparagus, green beans, 1/2 cup pesto, one 15 1/2-ounce can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed), one 6-ounce jar roasted peppers, sliced into strips, and salt and pepper to taste. If preparing ahead of time, combine all of the ingredients 1 to 2 hours before serving.
5 min
