Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Herb and Shallot Dressing - Gluten Free & Vegan

Healthy and Easy Chickpea-Lentil Pasta with Artichoke Hearts, Sundried Tomatoes, and (optional) Manchego Cheese

Here’s a simple main dish salad, that’s gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. Make it for #MeatlessMondays or any night as a main dish. It also makes a great side salad for a summer barbecue.

What we like about this lightened up pasta salad is that it’s low in carbs yet has loads of flavor and interesting colors and textures.

Taste Test Kitchen

We chose a gluten free pasta that incorporates chickpeas and lentils but no additional flours, such as brown rice or tapioca, which add a lot of carbs. We found a nice bonus to this chickpea-lentil pasta is that it requires less dressing than many other gluten free pastas. Some GF pastas seem to soak up a lot of dressing.

High in protein, fiber and potassium, the particular brand we bought (Chickapea) has no sodium – another healthy advantage.

The chickpea and lentil blend delivers a surprising, hearty flavor that calls for a good balance of ingredients to match it. We used just a little more balsamic vinegar and thyme than you might in a regular pasta salad and found the artichokes and sundried tomatoes complimented the pasta nicely. If you want to add cheese, aged Manchego (a low-in-lactose cheese) is the perfect addition with this pasta.

print recipe

Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Herb and Shallot Dressing – Gluten Free, Vegan

by Burnt Toast Food Blog August-17-2018

Here’s a simple and healthy main dish salad that’s gluten free. Make it dairy free and vegan, or add Manchego cheese.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces chickpea (garbanzo bean) and lentil pasta shells, gluten free
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained and coarse chopped
• 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and medium chopped
• 1/2 cup Manchego cheese, cubed in 1” pieces (optional)
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Herb and shallot dressing:
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Instructions

1. Add chopped shallot to balsamic vinegar and soak for 15 minutes (the term is ‘macerate,’ which means the vinegar softens the onion and cuts its sharpness, which is helpful when using raw onion). Combine remaining dressing ingredients and whisk well. Set aside and let flavors blend. 2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to the package directions, using least time allotted, or until pasta is just al dente. Drain and let pasta cool in a large bowl. 3. Prepare celery, artichoke hearts, and sundried tomatoes. Add to pasta and mix. 4. Whisk dressing and add enough to coat salad but not make it soggy. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate salad at least one hour. Reserve and refrigerate any leftover dressing. 5. To serve, bring salad to room temperature and add salt and pepper to taste. If needed, add additional dressing – some gluten free pastas absorb more dressing. Toss in cheese cubes if using. Notes: - Make this salad with your favorite gluten free pasta, but we recommend using a chickpea and/or lentil one without other flours like brown rice or tapioca, which add a lot of carbs. We used the Chickapea brand. - Swap chopped green olives or cherry tomatoes for the sundried tomatoes. - Frozen artichoke hearts (thawed and drained) work as well as ones out of a jar.

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 1 hour 55 mins (including 1 hour to chill) Yield: 4 servings