Lemon Capellini Salad – Angel Hair Pasta Salad
Lemon Capellini Salad will blow you away with its tastebud-awakening flavours; as an added bonus, it is quick and easy to prepare so that you will be out of your kitchen in no time. P.S. this is a potluck favourite!
Servings: 4 as a side
Calories: 412kcal
Equipment
- Non-stick pan
Ingredients
- 250 grams angel hair pasta (approximately 8.82 ounces)
- ¼ cup olive oil, extra virgin
- 3 long red chilli (or diced capsicum if you don’t like it spicy)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup baby capers, drained
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (zest from approximately 2 lemons)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 bunch basil1 (1 ½ cups chopped leaves)
Instructions
- Put a big pot of water on your stove to boil, add some salt once boiled then add your pasta with a few drops of olive oil and cook according to packet directions (approximately 3-5 minutes).2
- In the meantime wash your chilli and remove the seeds and dice finely, remove the papery skin from your garlic and mince with a garlic press.
- 💡TOP TIP: Wear gloves when you are cutting the chillies to avoid chilli burn, there is nothing worse than rubbing your eyes with chilli hands- ouch!
- Drain and rinse the capers then pat dry.
- Wash your basil, shake and pat dry, pick the basil leaves from the stems and then roughly chop.
- Your pasta should be done by now, do a taste it and if it is al dente. Take it off the stove and drain it well under cold running water.
- Heat the olive oil on medium heat until it heats up, first add your capers, then the diced chilli, the minced garlic, and the lemon zest.
- Stir until cooked and aromatic.
- Add the cooked pasta, caper/chilli mix, the chopped basil to a large mixing bowl.
- Pour over the lemon juice, season with some sea salt and cracked black pepper and mix well to combine.
- Add the grated parmesan cheese and mix through again.
- Arrange in a salad bowl and some sliced chilli slices on top to garnish and serve when you are ready.
Video
Notes
- Consider Adding - some cherry or mini Roma tomatoes for sweetness or some toasted pine nuts for some added crunch.
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While I love how quick capellini and angel hair pasta is to cook, it is quite notorious for turning into a congealed mess if you overcook it.
Never fear; follow our easy step-by-step instructions, and you won't get it wrong.
- Take out one of your large pots so that the pasta has room to move around while it is cooking and won't stick together, then fill it with water and bring it to a boil.
- Once it starts to boil, add some salt to the water (I like to add the salt after the water has boiled, so it doesn't evaporate completely and leave me with bland-tasting pasta.
- Then add your pasta and a few drops of olive oil to the pot; the oil will stick to the pasta and stop it from clumping together (have you ever tried to pick up something oily, doesn't it just slip, slip away?)
- Stir the pot occasionally and check after 2-3 minutes. Use a fork to pull out a string of pasta, cool it under some cold water, taste it, and if it is tender but with a bit of a bite, this is called "al dente", then it is done. However, if it is still crunchy, then it may still need a minute or so.
- When your pasta is cooked al dente, drain it in a strainer; for this recipe, we will rinse it under some cold water to completely stop the cooking process as it is a salad. If you are using it with a sauce then drop the pasta in the sauce and give it a good stir through.
Nutrition
Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 609mg | Potassium: 176mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 223IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 1mg