If you’re a fan of fresh herbs and garlic with a hit of mayo, we have you covered with this big, beautiful pasta salad for dinner. Paired with the ultimate green goddess dressing, we’ve loaded it up with crunchy asparagus and green beans and added olives and Parmesan to round out the savoury flavours.
Green Goddess Pasta Salad
The secret to the best Green Goddess dressing is fresh herbs, buttermilk and mayo. Add to asparagus, crisp-cooked green beans and pasta and you have the ultimate pasta salad.
Ingredients
Green Goddess Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup basil leaves
- ½ cup parsley leaves
- 2 tbsp tarragon leaves
- 3 anchovies
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pasta Salad
- 1 bunch asparagus trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut into pieces
- 3 cups green beans cut into pieces
- 1 cup baby peas
- 500 g short pasta about 5 cups
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice divided (approx)
- ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
- ¾ cup finely grated Parmesan divided
- extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
Green Goddess Dressing
- In blender, purée mayonnaise, buttermilk, basil, parsley, tarragon, anchovies, green onions, garlic, salt and pepper until smooth.
Pasta Salad
- In large pot of boiling salted water, cook asparagus and green beans until tender-crisp, 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove vegetables to bowl of ice water until chilled. Remove and pat dry. Repeat with peas.
- In same pot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, then rinse under cold water until chilled.
- In large bowl, combine pasta, asparagus, beans and peas; add dressing, half of the lemon juice, salt, pepper and all but 3 tbsp of the Parmesan, tossing to combine. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, tasting before adding more lemon juice, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
Notes
Tip: While the dressing can be made up to 2 days ahead, the pasta salad is best enjoyed the same day.
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