Well hello everyone. Yes, I’m back and much sooner than I expected! You all were just so supportive of my fatigue and general blahness- thank you for all your kind words, encouragement and advice. I’m still about the same, although mentally and emotionally feeling better, and you all were a part of that so thank you!. It’s the Victoria Day long weekend in Canada (or May 2-4 as we like to call it) coming up and since you were all so wonderful I felt inspired and decided to type up this post for a pasta salad I made a little while ago.
Pasta salad is the perfect summer dish. It is made ahead of time and you can do it in the evening or early morning when it’s cooler out to save you from slaving over a hot stove in the middle of the day. Plus, it’s a dish that just screams picnic or barbeque, really any summer gathering! Definitely May 2-4 material!
This pasta salad was more of an accident than anything. I had a craving for tahini and decided to whip up some tahini sauce for lunch. Spotted some fresh dill in the fridge so I threw that in! Seeing as I’m trying to increase the amount of iron I’m taking in (last doctor’s appointment revealed stats still aren’t great, so another month of intense iron pills for me, YAY), I’ve been incorporating more legumes into my diet. So I decided chickpeas would be a fantastic vehicle for the sauce. But wait! I needed some veggies too- what goes great with tahini and dill? Well tomatoes and cucumbers of course! I mixed in all up and it tasted great! The only problem was, there was a lot of sauce covering those chickpeas and vegetables and while I appreciated the sauciness (I’m a saucy lady dontcha know), it needed something to pull it all together. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it- pasta! So I cooked up some pasta, threw it in will the chickpeas and let it chill. Finished with fresh ground pepper and red pepper flakes, I had a delicious and fresh pasta salad that would rival any mayo-based pasta salad out there!
This pasta salad is light and oh so springy thanks to the lemon and dill and the chickpeas and brown rice pasta ensure it has some staying power. Served up with some steamed kale, this meal covers all your bases, including being happy and satisfied :)
Tahini-Dill Pasta Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free)
Serves 4 as a main, or 6-8 as a side.
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp coconut aminos (or Bragg’s, soy sauce, nama shoyu, etc.)
- 2-3 tbsp chopped dill
Salad:
- 1 1/3 cup dry brown rice macaroni (or other bite-sized pasta), cooked according to package directions
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed well (or 1 1/2 cups cooked from dry chickpeas)
- 1 very large tomato (or 2 small), chopped small
- 1/2 a large cucumber, chopped small
- lots of fresh ground pepper
- 3 generous pinches red pepper flakes (optional)
Cook the pasta according to package directions and set aside to cool.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together until emulsified and set aside.
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to mix.
Put in the fridge for 30 minutes or until chilled. It’s best when left for a few hours so all the flavours can meld together!
Garnish with a sprig of dill and squeeze of lime and you’re all set. Dig in!
Hope you all have a lovely long weekend (or regular one for all my other readers)! I’ll be working Saturday and Monday, but at least I get a bit of time-and-a-half pay out of it ;)
I am submitting this post to Allergy-Friendly Fridays, Foodie Friday, Chilin’ & Grillin’ BBQ Event, and Wellness Weekends!
Ooops–we’re asking people to link back to the Chillin and Grillin event–could you please add the links to both posts? Thanks! :)
Done and done :) Sorry I forgot!
Yum yum!! Now I feel like eating pasta salad. . . such a perfectly summery dish! Thanks so much for joining in on the BBQ party, Gabby! :D
Thanks Ricki! It was definitely a hit at a barbeque I recently went to :). Happy to join in!
Isn’t dill the most amazing fresh herb? I love how just a small amount dramatically transforms a dish. This looks so perfect for a summer afternoon!
It’s one of my favourites and somehow I always manage to forget about it for long periods of time. But when I rediscover it, I put it in everything!
We are obsessed with tahini! It makes such a good dressing. Pasta salad will always remind me of summer :)
Tahini just makes everything better :)
Gabby … You have been nominated for my NEW Food Stories Award for Excellence in Storytelling. Check out my site for the details (foodstoriesblog dot com).
wow thank you! You are so wonderful :)
love this! what a creative twist on traditional pasta salad.
Thanks! I definitely enjoyed this take on it, so fresh and light!
I am so happy to hear that you are feeling a tad bit more like yourself lately – sending you some happy “iron filled” energy your way :)
I totally am a “saucy lady” too :)
Thanks darling :) Hehe I’m also sending you some positive thoughts and whatever energy I can to help you get through your hectic week! Hopefully you are able to relax a little bit now that it’s the weekend.
I love the sauciness ;) and I love that you do too!
This looks amazing! Its winter over here, but nothing like a pasta salad to make you feel like its summer :)
haha exactly! Whereabouts are you from? I’m so glad out winter is over- I’m ready for barbeques, iced tea and swimming!
South Africa, our winters aren’t that cold, but to us its freezing :( haha. I love iced tea!! I make a lot of Rooibos iced tea, its so refreshing.
Oh I bet you have access to awesome Rooibos tea! I love that stuff :)
Hope you’re keeping warm!
This looks delicious! I need to give it a try!
Hey! Glad you think so :) It’s nice and light for a pasta salad which is great in my books. Plus super fresh with the lemon and dill. Let me know if you try it!
I’ve never heard of Victoria Day before; I shall have to do some googling! And I’ve also never made a pasta salad (I think it’s an America/Canadian thing more than an Aussie thing), so this is just a post of newness all around :P Glad you’re feeling better!
Victoria Day celebrates the birth of Queen Victoria from good old England :) It has really lost it’s meaning here, it’s basically just an excuse to have a long weekend and celebrate the beginning of summer! It’s known as May 2-4 here for a couple reasons: it usually falls around May 24th and because people like to buy 2-4s of beer (flats of 24 cans). It’s a weekend full of being outdoors, camping, barbequing, drinking and all that goodness. Very Canadian and I love it :)
Anything that involves tahini is all good in my book! Glad you’re feeling a little more balanced, and I’m sure your iron issues will be sorted out soon…. just make sure to include a source of Vitamin C whenever you eat something that contains iron…. and avoid caffeine around meal times are this can inhibit absorption too. It’s tough, I know – I have issues with absorption too, it’s frustrating!
I’ve got a jar of tahini that is just sitting there and needing to be used…Am bookmarking this to try next week- thanks!
anne
Wow, what a lovely summery dish! The addition of tomato and cucumber is perfect! It looks so fresh, healthy and delicious. A perfect picnic table staple for any summer get together. I love that it looks like a light dish too, because pasta salads can be so heavy! Another lovely recipe!
Thank you! I love ow summery this turned out and I wasn’t even planning it- something just going with your gut works wonders :) It’s definitely light- heavier on the veggies and chickpeas that the pasta so you get loads of good nutrition in without just filling up on the pasta. Plus the sauce is lighter than the average mayo-based pasta salad!
Thank you so much for giving a tahini recipe! We have a couple of jars of the stuff and I haven’t been able to figure out what to put it in, but now I do :D I found a couple other recipes online (with tahini) but this by far is the best sounding one! I can’t wait to give it at try :)
You’re so welcome! I used to be stumped as to what to do with tahini too but now I drizzle it one everything and it finds it’s way into everything. If you need a couple more ideas, check out my recipe page! The tahini banana cups, oatmeal tahini cookies and the avocado everything spread are some of my faves. Be sure to experiment! It’s so much more versatile than just an addition to hummus :)
You have come back with a bang my friend – just look at this delicious pasta salad – dying here :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Haha aww thank you! While I didn’t actually make this in the last few days, I was at least motivated to post it which is saying something :)
Glad you like the look of it! It’s super easy to make…you know…if you do decide to make it ;)
This looks pretty good! :)
It tastes pretty good too ;)
Oooh yummy, this is just the kind of thing that I like!
Yay! Let me know if you try it :)
Fresh dill is the best herb ever – I’ve been on a kick of trying to stick it in everything, so this looks right up my alley!
Oh I’ve been the same! I always forget how good dill is, then when I have it I put it in everything! Glad I’m not the only one :)
This looks really delicious, I’ll be adding this to my summer cookout rotation for sure!
Awesome! Pasta salads just scream summer don’t they?