Green Pea Fusilli Salad with Orange Citrus Vinaigrette

Packed with vitamins, fibre and minerals, the green pea fusilli in this dish will also give you good quality plant protein. Made with 100% green peas ground into flour, the fusilli is an alternative to traditional pasta and great way to get your plant protein without lentils or tofu. Gluten free, nutritious and light, a salad like this one is particularly nice to have when the weather is warm. What makes this salad special is the vinaigrette. The homemade orange citrus vinaigrette blends in perfectly with this salad. It’s sweet and savory with citrus overtones and it awakens all those earthy flavors in the salad.

Green Pea Fusilli Salad with Orange Citrus Vinaigrette [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• Green pea fusilli, about 3 cups of dried fusilli, cooked according to package
• Spinach leaves, about 2 cups tightly packed
• Rucola leaves, one generous handful
• 1 large English cucumber, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups jarred marinated artichokes, drained, rinsed well and sliced
• 2-3 green onions, chopped small
• 3-4 celery ribs, chopped small
• A generous handful of each: fresh mint and parsley leaves, chopped fine
• A pinch or two of salt, pepper & red pepper flakes

For the Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup 100% pure orange juice or freshly squeezed
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest *
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely grated
• 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
• A pinch of salt, pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil *

Preparation

For the Salad:

1. Cook the fusilli pasta until tender but not too soft. If the package says to cook it for 6 to 8 minutes, then cook it for 6.
2. Strain, drain and rinse pasta under cold running tap water. Set pasta aside in the strainer to cool.
3. Chop and prepare the spinach leaves and vegetables for your salad and toss together in a big salad bowl.
4. Add the cooled fusilli and toss. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Toss again.
5. Drizzle very little or a few tablespoons of vinaigrette (see recipeY) and toss so that everything is lightly but evenly coated.  (Do not add too much vinaigrette at this stage because you simply want the ingredients to lightly marinate in the vinaigrette without being weighed down by it).
6. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
7. Give the salad a final toss. Serve it with the vinaigrette on the side, which will be added to individual portions and according to taste.

For the Vinaigrette:

1. In a small bowl, add everything except the olive oil. Hand whisk until smooth. Add by pouring in a stream the olive oil whilst whisking. Hand whisk again until blended and smooth. Alternatively, for a creamier texture, put all ingredients into the bowl of a small blender or NutriBullet and blend for a few seconds until super creamy. Pour into a glass jar, cover and store in fridge. Always give the jar a good shake or stir with a spoon before adding to the salad.

 

Notes

The zest is the orange outer layer of the peel that is finely grated; not the white underlying part of the peel. Use a good quality olive oil that is “Extra virgin” otherwise, you end up with an olive oil that can taste stale or unpleasant.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/green-pea-fusilli-salad-with-orange-citrus-vinaigrette-vegan-gluten-free/