Pasta Salad with White Beans, Artichokes & Olives
Six months of lunches at home and I'm maybe starting to not hate making it.
Pre-Covid my lunches were weird and hobbled together. I prefer breakfast to lunch, and way back when I was working from home (BY MYSELF) on a good day it was tuna on crackers, or maybe pretzels and hummus, occasionally a salad or a sandwich if I was feeling really motivated. On a bad day? It was three la croixs and a handful of cheez-its, or my favorite lunch: nothing at all until 4pm came and I went in search of anything in my pantry and end up eating half a box of girl scout cookies. Those were not great days.
Anyway now that my whole entire family is in the house almost every single day, and apparently all require lunch beyond a handful of cheezits, I've taken to making some larger format lunches that can be spread out over a few days or at the very least shared with multiple people in the family. I have always loved a pasta salad but every time I set out to make one I find myself at the store scratching my head to remember what it is I even like in cold pasta. So this is my solution. My favorite pasta salad now documented for my future self scratching her head at the store.
This pasta salad, oooo it is great. Has all my faves, really a lesson in indulgence-by-way-of-lunch: Marinated white beans, artichoke hearts, shallots, a thyme/sherry vinegar/dijon vinaigrette. Salty ricotta salata on top and some sliced salami and yes Owen there are olives in there if you don't like them eat around them! xoxo
Pasta Salad with White Beans, Artichokes & Olives
4-6 servings as a main, 8-10 servings as a side
Ingredients
1 lb pasta of your choice (I used Garganelli here)
5-6 Pickled Baby Corn
1/4 C Castelvetrano Olives, roughly chopped
12 oz jar of grilled marinated artichoke hearts
4-5 Peppadew Peppers, roughly chopped
1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings
3 oz Ricotta Salata, crumbled
2 oz thinly sliced salami (optional)
15 oz can of Cannellini beans, drained
2 tsp Aleppo Pepper
For the dressing:
4 cloves garlic, grated or smashed into a paste
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 C Sherry Vinegar
1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Method
First: Make the dressing. Combine all ingredients into a lidded jar and shake to combine. Pour approximately half of the dressing into a large sized bowl (big enough to hold the whole pasta salad) and add cannellini beans. Stir to coat and set aside while you make the rest of the pasta (white beans can be marinated up to a day in advance)
Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and spread cooked pasta onto rimmed baking sheet to cool. Do not rinse your pasta!
Add remaining ingredients to the bowl with the beans and dressing. Toss gently to combine. Add cooled pasta and remaining dressing and toss again. Eat immediately or store in the fridge for a highly satisfying desk lunch the next day.