Pastina Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Rapini and Creamy Cashew Vinaigrette

Pastina Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Rapini and Creamy Cashew Vinaigrette
Pastina Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Rapini and Creamy Cashew Vinaigrette

This recipe comes from my dear friend Catalina. She always knows how to put together random things to make them taste fabulous. This Pastina Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Rapini, and Creamy Cashew Vinaigrette is no exception. And it only takes 30 minutes to prepare. The beauty of this pasta salad is that you can replace the ingredients with similar ones. Broccolini instead of rapini, orzo pasta instead of round pastina, and if you don’t have cauliflower, you can go with squash or sweet potato.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it! Please tag @LivityGardens on social.

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Pastina Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Rapini and Creamy Cashew Vinaigrette

  • Author: Karine K
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 side servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Oven-Roasted Cauliflower:

  • 1/2 head cauliflower, cut in small florets
  • 2 cloves garlic, halved
  • Dashes of smoked paprika
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
  • Sea salt and pepper, to taste

For the Salad:

  • 1 head of rapini, trimmed
  • 1 cup round pastina
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 510 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

For the Creamy Cashew Vinaigrette:

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
  • 1/2 small lemon, juiced
  • 10 large leaves of fresh basil
  • 5 leaves of fresh mint
  • 56 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon mayo or soft tofu (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat over to 400˚. Put the cauliflower florets and the garlic in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with olive oil, add the thyme, rosemary sprigs, and smoked paprika. Give it a quick stir and put it in the oven for 20 minutes, then stir and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes.

Incorporate all the ingredients of the vinaigrette in a mini food processor or blender. Mix until the dressing has a nice creamy consistency.

Cook the pastina al dente according to package instructions. Steam the rapini for about 10 minutes until tender, then drain the excess water by pressing them into a clean kitchen towel. Cut them in small pieces. In a large bowl, add the rapini, pastina, shallots, cherry tomatoes, and roasted cauliflower. Dress the mix with the creamy cashew vinaigrette and add a little more olive oil into the mix. Plate, add the sliced avocado and some toasted pine nuts. Bon appétit!

Keywords: pastina, cauliflower, rapini, cashew

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Salade de pastina avec chou-fleur rôti, rapini et vinaigrette crémeuse à la noix de cajou

  • Author: Karine K
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 portions 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Pour le chou-fleur rôti:

  • 1/2 tête de chou-fleur, coupée en fleurons
  • 2 gousses d’ail, coupées en deux
  • Quelques pincées de paprika fumé
  • 2 branches de thym et de romarin
  • Sel de mer et poivre, au goût

Pour la salade:

  • 1 tête de rapini, parée
  • 1 tasse de pastina
  • 1 échalote française, émincée
  • 5 à 10 tomates cerise, coupées en deux
  • 1 avocat, tranché
  • 1/4 tasse de noix de pin, rôties

Pour la vinaigrette crémeuse à la noix de cajou:

  • 1/2 tasse de noix de cajou, trempées toute une nuit
  • Le jus dun 1/2 petit citron
  • 10 grandes feuilles de basilic
  • 5 feuilles de menthe
  • 5 à 6 c. à soupe d’huile d’olive
  • 1 c. à soupe de mayo ou de tofu soyeux (en option)
  • 1 c. à thé de moutarde de Dijon
  • Sel de mer et poivre, au goût

Instructions

Préchauffer le four à 400˚. Déposer le chou-fleur et l’ail sur une tôle de cuisson préalablement recouverte de papier parchemin. Arroser d’huile d’olive, ajouter le thym et le romarin, et le paprika fumé. Remuer et mettre au four pendant 20 minutes. Retourner les fleurons et remettre au four pendant 10 minutes de plus. Retirer du four et laisser reposer pendant 10 minutes.

Placer tous les ingrédients de la vinaigrette dans un mini robot culinaire ou mélangeur. Mélanger jusqu’à l’obtention d’une consistence crémeuse. 

Cuire les pastina al dente, selon les directives sur l’emballage. Cuire le rapini à la vapeur, pendant environ 10 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce qu’il soit tendre. Retirer du feu et éponger l’excédent d’eau avec un linge de cuisine propre. Hacher.

Dans un grand bol, combiner le rapini, les pastina, les échalotes françaises, les tomates, et le chou-fleur rôti. Ajouter la vinaigrette et un tait d’huile d’olive. Mélanger délicatement. Servir garni des tranches d’avocats et des noix de pin rôties. Bon appétit!

Keywords: pastina, chou-fleur, rapini, cajou

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Orzo, Asparagus and Broccolini Salad

Orzo, Asparagus and Broccolini Salad
Orzo, Asparagus and Broccolini Salad

The brightness of this orzo, asparagus and broccolini salad is spectacular. Get yourself the best and freshest ingredients possible in order to make this wonderful lettuce-free salad. Heidi Swanson makes hers with feta cheese, but for the purpose of staying plant-based, I skipped the cheese.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it! Please tag @LivityGardens on social.

If you are like me and can’t live without broccolini, try this Broccolini with Pine Nuts and Raisins and this Broccolette Salad with Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette.

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Orzo, Asparagus and Broccolini Salad

  • Author: Karine K

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup dried (whole wheat) orzo pasta
  • 10 medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch segments
  • 1/2 a medium bunch of broccolini, cut into small trees
  • Small handful of cilantro, chopped
  • 1 small clove of garlic, mashed with a big pinch of salt and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Small handful of sprouts (I used spicy sprouts)
  • 1/3 cup almond, toasted
  • 1/2 small cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 1 medium avocado, sliced into small pieces

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously and boil the orzo per package instructions. Avoid over-boiling, you want your orzo to be cooked through, but maintain structure. About 30 seconds before the orzo is finished cooking stir the asparagus and broccolini into the orzo pot. Cook for the final 30-45 seconds, drain and run under a bit of cold water to stop the cooking. In the meantime, whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and more salt (if needed) into the dressing. Set aside. When you are ready to serve the salad toss the orzo, asparagus, broccolini, and cilantro with about half the dressing. Add more dressing if needed, and toss well. Now add the sprouts, almonds, cucumber, and avocado. Very gently toss to distribute those ingredients throughout the orzo salad and serve. Bon appétit!

Keywords: orzo, broccolini, asparagus

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