With Easter fast approaching and longer evenings spent in the garden, this salad is perfect for the whole family to share alongside your choice of meat, fish, or other mixed salads. Not only that, but it can also be made ahead for picnics or packed lunches so you can get the most out of the lighter evenings.
Makes: 6-8 servings
Suitable from: 12 months (without salt)
Prep: 20 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
For the salad:
- 250g uncooked, medium-size pasta, variety of shapes
- 2 slices of bread to make toasted bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter; melted
- 6 slices bacon cooked crisp (can be left out to make this veggie)
- 1 head iceberg lettuce washed and chopped
- ½ red pepper, washed, deseeded, and finely chopped
- 100g red and yellow cherry tomatoes washed and halved
- 100g frozen peas, cooked
- Handful of basil, torn
- 60g feta, cubed
For the sauce:
- 50g mayonnaise
- 50g full fat natural yoghurt
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
To make the salad:
- Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve a little pasta water and drain the rest.
- While the pasta cooks, cook the bacon, chop the lettuce, halve the tomatoes, chop the red pepper, and cook the peas, then make the breadcrumbs.
- To make the breadcrumbs, tear the bread apart into smaller chunks and place in a food processor. Process the bread until it is in small-medium sized crumbs.
- Place the breadcrumbs into a medium bowl and add the melted butter. Mix together until the butter is well incorporated. Toast in the oven on 200C for 10-15 minutes until toasted to your liking.
To make the sauce:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, paprika, and black pepper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the drained pasta, half the breadcrumbs, half the crispy bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and sauce.
- Toss to mix and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve.
- To serve, if needed add the reserved pasta water to loosen the salad. Sprinkle with reserved breadcrumbs, bacon, the torn basil and feta cubes, and season with salt & pepper to taste.
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