Summer Pea and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad
Pea Pepper Pasta Salad
A bright summer pasta salad with tender shells, sweet peas, crisp snow peas, and a silky roasted red pepper vinaigrette.
Nutrition (per serving)
This summer pea and roasted red pepper pasta salad keeps the best parts of warm-weather pasta salad and leaves behind the heavy dressing. Small shells catch sweet peas and a smooth pepper vinaigrette, while slivered snow peas add a crisp green bite in every forkful.
The dressing is the anchor of the recipe. A roasted red bell pepper blends with olive oil, red wine vinegar, shallot, salt, and black pepper into a sauce that tastes sweet, tangy, and savory without needing mayonnaise. It coats the pasta lightly but still brings enough flavor to stand up to chilled serving.
Fresh shelling peas are excellent when they are in season, but frozen peas work well when speed matters or market peas are past their peak. The key is to blanch the vegetables briefly, chill them quickly, and cook the pasta until just tender so the finished salad stays lively instead of soft.
Serve the salad as a picnic side, a make-ahead lunch, or a vegetable-forward dish for a cookout. Soft goat cheese, feta, Parmesan, basil, or mint can be added at the end, but the pasta is complete with just the peas and roasted pepper vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- Small Shell Pasta:1 lb
- Snow Peas, trimmed:4 oz
- Shelled Fresh Peas or Frozen Peas:1 cup
- Roasted Red Bell Pepper, peeled and seeded:1 large
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil:1/4 cup
- Red Wine Vinegar:3 tbsp
- Shallot, chopped:1 tbsp
- Kosher Salt:1 tsp
- Black Pepper, freshly ground:1/2 tsp
- Soft Goat Cheese or Feta, optional:2 oz
- Fresh Basil or Mint Leaves, optional:1/4 cup
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water beside the stove.
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Add the snow peas to the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, until bright green and still crisp. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the ice water.
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Add the peas to the same boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes for fresh peas or about 1 minute for frozen peas, just until tender. Transfer them to the ice water with the snow peas.
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Drain the chilled vegetables well. Slice the snow peas thinly on the diagonal and set them aside with the peas.
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Add the shell pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse briefly with cool water, and shake off excess water.
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Blend the roasted red pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar, shallot, kosher salt, and black pepper until very smooth. Taste and add a little more vinegar or salt if the dressing needs more brightness.
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Combine the pasta, peas, and sliced snow peas in a large bowl. Pour in about three quarters of the roasted red pepper vinaigrette and toss until evenly coated.
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Let the salad stand for 10 minutes, then toss again and add more dressing as needed. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
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Fold in goat cheese or feta and fresh herbs if using, or scatter them over the top just before serving.
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Serve at room temperature or chilled, refreshing the salad with a spoonful of reserved dressing if it has been refrigerated.
Tips & Notes
- If roasting a pepper from scratch, place it under a broiler or over a gas flame until blistered all over, then cover it for 10 minutes before peeling.
- Frozen peas should be cooked only briefly; they are already blanched and can turn dull if boiled too long.
- Reserve a few tablespoons of dressing for leftovers because pasta absorbs dressing as it sits.
- For a dairy-free salad, skip the cheese and add extra herbs or toasted pine nuts.
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