Fennel and Caper Pasta Salad
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 01:04PM 
Phew, what a month of sunshine it has been. With temperatures soaring and my kitchen beginning to feel like its very own clay oven there have only been a few things that I have really wanted to eat. I should probably confess at this point that any actual cooking has been kept to an absolute minimum in the last few days. If I can pull it from the garden, rinse it under the tap and then serve it I am a happy girl. In this weather, simplicity is paramount and with the current abundance of fresh, seasonal ingredients on offer it is both logical and pleasurable to make meals from the ripe and ready to eat ingredients on hand. It has been that particular mindset that has meant I have eaten nothing but salads for the last seven days. I should make it clear that when I say salads I don’t mean the combination of lettuce, cucumber and tomato variety (although there is nothing wrong with that particular ‘my first salad’ combination of ingredients), but rather, salads that use a medley of colours, textures, and flavours to make them zing and crunch in your mouth. The kind of salads that are vibrant and full, rich with herbs and vegetables, some cooked, some raw, all intense with the sweetness and flavours of summertime.
This particular salad is a favourite of mine: partly because it is a breeze to make and yet looks as pretty as a picture, partly because of the piquant crunch you get from the chilli, lemon and courgette and mostly because it contains fennel and capers, two of my absolute favourite ingredients. I know the aniseed savour of fennel is either a love it or hate it situation but I really revel in the stuff, and as it is utterly in season now it was the perfect addition to this fragrant, sunshine salad. I particular like the combination of the soft and mellow, cooked courgette with the crunch of the raw fennel, toasted pine nuts and the sweet, ruby tomatoes. I often serve this while it is still a little warm as it makes for a lovely and vibrant simple supper. You can just as easily leave it to cool completely and serve as part of a picnic or evening dinner.
FENNEL AND CAPER PASTA SALAD
Serves 4
350g/12oz gluten free penne pasta - Doves Farm Gluten Free Penne
1 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 small, mild red chilli
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
The juice and zest of ½ a lemon
A large bunch of chives and parsley, finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb
2 large courgettes
1 large yellow pepper
12 cherry tomatoes
30g pine nuts
Preheat the oven to 180c (160c Fan). Place the pine nuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven until golden, then set aside to cool down. De-seed the red pepper and cut into 1cm squares, trim the courgettes and cut into 1cm cubes. Trim the chilli and scoop out the seeds, finely chop and then set aside. Combine the pepper and courgettes with 2 tbsp of the olive oil and the garlic and chilli, season well and then roast in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, remove from the oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large vat of salted water to the boil and add the penne pasta to the water and cook at a constant simmer for 10 minutes or until the penne is al dente. Drain the penne and rinse with warm water, drizzle with a little olive oil and set aside to cool.
Next, trim the base and any tough outer leaves from the fennel then cut in to thin slivers then cut the cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters depending on their size. In a large bowl, mix together the remaining olive oil, capers, lemon zest and juice and the fresh herbs. Add the fennel, courgettes, pepper, tomatoes and pasta to the oil and leave to marinate for a few minutes. Season well and mix together, sprinkle over the pine nuts and then serve.
Capers, Chilli, Garlic, Nuts & Seeds, Pasta, Vegetables in Lunches, Pasta, Salads, Summertime, Suppers, Vegetarian, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free, wheat-free, yeast-free
Reader Comments (8)
Love this salad , never thought I liked capers!! What a taste revolution
Anne, thank you, I am so glad you changed your mind on the capers! They are wonderful, and powerful, little things!
We get pretty hot here in Canberra, Australia over summer with temperatures getting into the 40's. I try to do any prep work and cooking in the morning before it gets too hot.... although sometimes it's already mid 20's by 7am! Working in a commercial kitchen can be terrible and the boss has to keep tabs on us and keep pumping us staff full of water as we can get heat exhustion and become very ill quickly. Lovely salad, and hope you keep cool!
Anne, I am so glad you've become convinced, capers are the best! Thanks for commenting.
InTolerant Chef, seriously?! That's too hot and you've made me feel a bit lame whingeing about our British Summer! No wonder you own two ice cream makers! Thanks for commenting.
Thankyou for this amazing salad , had it the other night and it was delicious
Julia, you are so welcome, I am so pleased you liked it.
I am very very addicted to this dish, had it again last night and today after i found some yummy fennel at the market. The flavours are fantastic.