For a recipe with so few ingredients, this pasta salad is loaded with flavour

A simple yet flavourful affair that’s lifted by a classic and dependable balsamic dressing. This is a minimalist’s dream.

Epic and delicious: this pasta salad is a meal in itself. Photography: Rochelle Eagle

Jessica Prescott

less than 2 min read

12:15PMSeptember 24, 2024

The Weekend Australian Magazine

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For a recipe with so few ingredients, this pasta salad packs a punch. The bright, lemony ricotta and the sweetness and crunch of the maple walnuts pair perfectly with the bitter radicchio and the freshness of parsley and spinach, creating a simple yet flavourful affair that’s lifted by a classic and dependable balsamic dressing. It’s a minimalist’s dream.

For an equally easy pasta salad, try my charred broccoli pasta salad.

This is an edited extract from Epic Salads by Jessica Prescott. Photography: Rochelle Eagle

Epic Salads by Jessica Prescott is full of excellent ideas with crunch.

Lemon and ricotta pasta salad

Ingredients

For the salad

• 300g dry pasta
• 125g ricotta
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove, microplaned
• 50g parmesan
• ½ fennel bulb, sliced paper thin, some fronds reserved
• 2 large handfuls radicchio, leaves torn
• 2 large handfuls (60g) flat-leaf parsley, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup maple walnuts, see below
• Chilli flakes, to serve

Balsamic dressing

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 French shallot, very finely diced
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt flakes

Maple walnuts

• 1 cup walnut halves
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon salted butter

Method

1. To make the balsamic dressing, put the balsamic vinegar and diced shallot in a jar and set aside for 5 to 15 minutes to mellow the shallot’s raw, sharp taste. Add the remaining ingredients, screw on the lid and shake well until combined.
2. To make the maple walnuts, place the nuts, maple syrup and butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat and cook for five minutes, stirring often, until the walnuts are golden brown. Spread the mixture in a single layer on a piece of baking paper and scrape all the excess maple butter over the top of them. Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so.
3. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain and shake dry, then toss in 3 tablespoons of the balsamic dressing. Set aside to cool. Combine the ricotta with the lemon juice and zest, and the garlic. Set aside. Add the parmesan to the cooled, dressed pasta and stir to combine. Add the fennel, radicchio and most of the parsley and the maple walnuts to the pasta and stir to combine.
4. Place half the pasta in a serving dish. Dot with teaspoons of ricotta and then top with the remaining pasta and ricotta. Top with remaining herbs and walnuts, add chilli flakes to taste, then drizzle with additional balsamic dressing.

Serves 3-4