Lemon Capellini Salad Recipe (With Tomatoes And Capers)
Lemon Capellini Salad (With Tomatoes And Capers) is a light pasta salad that is super easy to make using minimal ingredients. Serve it hot or cold.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- 9 ounces capellini pasta 250 g, or angel hair pasta, thin spaghetti noodles
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup baby capers drained, reserve 2 tablespoon brine (optional)
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
- 2 cup spinach packed
- 1 cup chopped basil leaves
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Cook The Pasta
- Put a large pot of water on your stove to boil over high heat.
- Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add 2 tablespoons of salt, and then add capellini pasta.
- Cook until Al Dente (just cooked).
Make The Sauce
- While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Added capers, red pepper flakes, garlic, and lemon zest and saute for 8-10 seconds.
- Now add cherry tomatoes, spinach, and basil leaves, and saute for a minute.
- Drain the cooked pasta (reserve ½ cup of the cooking water) and add it to the skillet and toss well.
- Add lemon juice, reserved brine from capers, salt, and black pepper, and toss well to coat the pasta.
- Add parmesan cheese and mix well.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Add the reserved pasta water if the pasta looks dry.
- Serve as hot pasta salad or refrigerate for a few hours and serve as a cold pasta salad. You can also serve it at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions. This will ensure that the pasta is properly cooked and seasoned.
Be sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice for this salad. Bottled lemon juice will not have the same flavor.
If you are making this pasta dish ahead of time, wait to add the cherry tomatoes until just before serving so they do not get mushy.
Feel free to experiment with different types of pasta and vegetables in this salad. There are many delicious possibilities!
Reserve 2 tablespoons of the brine from the capers, then add it to the pasta recipe for a nice tangy flavor.
Nutrition
Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 367mg | Potassium: 302mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1452IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 1mg
