Summer Pea and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad

I saw this on smitten kitchen a while ago and since it falls under the vegetarian category it was a perfect time to try it! Make sure you read through the directions once or twice before attempting because you could forget to cook the snow peas before you sliver them like I did. Not a crisis really, I just nuked them in some water for a couple minutes.

Summer Pea and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad

1 pound of small pasta
1/4 pound snow pea pods, ends trimmed
1/2 pound fresh summer peas, which yielded about 1 cup once shelled
3/4 to 1 cup Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a small ice water bath. Boil the snow pea pods for about two minutes, or until just barely cooked but still crisp. Scoop them out with a large slotted spoon and drop them in the ice water bath. Cook the peas for about 10 minutes (once again, this will be al dente, you can cook them longer if you prefer them softer), scoop them out with a large slotted spoon and plunge them into the ice water bath as well. Drain both peas. Cut the snow peas into thin slivers.

Add the pasta into the boiling water and cook it according to package instructions. Drain and let cool, then toss in a large bowl with peas and Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette, seasoning to taste.

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

Makes about one cup of dressing

1 red bell pepper, roasted, skinned and seeded or the equivalent from a jar, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped shallot (about 1 small)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several grinds of black pepper

Puree the red bell pepper in a food processor or blender as much as possible, then add the remaining ingredients and running the machine until the dressing is silky smooth. Adjust the vinegar level and seasonings to taste.

The finished product (look how cute the peas are all nestled inside the shell pasta:)

I did add about a half cup of crumbled feta cheese and would highly recommend doing so. Our verdict? Danny was not to hep on the mass amount of peas. I thought it was a lovely dish. I felt very posh eating it, which is not something I normally feel when eating due to my close relationship with heavy whipping cream.