This is a very delayed post because I was on vacation in beautiful Peru, but I’m back now and with lots of recipes to share. Thank you for your patience and for all the messages requesting this recipe! And also, thank you so much for all of the love on my last post, makes me so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the recipe and to see all of your re-creations.
This is another one not to be missed, peaches get so sweet and caramelized when lightly fried and I also added some fresh peaches for tartness. The tomato confit just ties everything together and using the tomato oil in the dressing is simply the best. This is heavily inspired by
of the sunday stack but plant-based friendly. And lemme tell you, she was onto something with putting peaches in pasta salad. Here’s my take…Peach Pasta Salad
3-4 servings
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp olive oil
2 ripe peaches, sliced
250g any variety of short cut pasta
25g basil, roughly chopped
2 large handfuls arugula
80g feta, crumbled (I used vegan feta)
Tomato Confit:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 shallot, thinly sliced
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2-3 sprigs thyme
olive oil, enough to go 2/3 way up the tomato, shallots and garlic
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Dressing:
juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/2 tsp honey or maple syrup
1 tsp dijon mustard
pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch of salt
3 tbsps oil from tomato confit
Make the tomato confit: Preheat the oven to 400F In a small baking dish, combine cherry tomatoes, shallots, garlic, thyme and pour in enough olive oil to go 2/3 of the way up the tomatoes, shallots and garlic. Then pour in the balsamic vinegar and toss everything to combine. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tomatoes blister and the garlic is soft.
Toast pine nuts: Add pine nuts to a large pan over medium heat and toast for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and fragrant, tossing around the pan frequently to avoid burning. Pour the toasted pine nuts onto a plate and set aside to cool.
Fry peaches: Heat olive oil in that same pan over medium heat, add half of the peaches in a single layer and fry until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan onto a plate and set aside to cool.
Make the dressing: once the tomato confit is ready and has cooled for at least 5 minutes, in a small jar, combine lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, salt and oil from the tomato confit. Cover the jar tightly and shake until emulsified.
Assemble the salad: remove the garlic cloves from the confit and give them a good mash. Strain the tomatoes and shallot from the oil and save the oil for future salad dressings (it’s liquid gold). In a large salad bowl, combine pasta, fried and fresh peaches, the strained tomatoes and shallots, mashed garlic, basil, arugula, toasted pine nuts and vegan feta. Pour over the dressing and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
You better make this one, I’m so serious. I could cry just thinking about it. But I have better things to do, like coming up with more summer recipes for you. So that’s what I’ll be up to these next few weeks. See ya real soon!
-Raquel xox
IG: @FreshofftheRaq
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