Pasta salad with harissa pomegranate dressing

A piquant dressing lifts this salad out of the ordinary. Photo / Fresh Media

Pasta salads can be a bit bland if they aren’t done right. A spicy sweet-sour homemade dressing with a pop of harissa is the key to this anything-but-dull salad. Try it for something a bit different at your next barbecue.

Turkish pasta salad

Serves 6 as a side

Ingredients

250g boccoli pasta

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 fresh corncobs, cooked

2 roasted red peppers (you can use the roasted bottled ones)

3 spring onions, sliced

2 gherkins, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp capers, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp Italian parsley, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp dried dill, finely chopped

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the dressing

1 large lemon, juiced

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 tsp harissa (more if you want it extra spicy)

1 small clove garlic, crushed

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente. It won’t hurt for the pasta to be slightly more cooked than if you were serving it hot. Drain, toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and allow to cool.
2. Slice the kernels off the cooked cobs. Add to the cooled pasta with all the other salad ingredients.
3. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well. Pour over the salad and toss gently to combine.

Afterword

Boccoli is a twisted pasta shape. It’s on the shelf in most supermarkets but you can substitute spirals in this recipe.