full recipe – alison roman's pasta salad with courgette, lemon & walnuts

Pasta salad, as a concept, is a thrill, and yet in practice, it’s nearly always a bore. This one, however, truly delivers. There’s brilliant tanginess from tons of capers and lemon, plus a delightful mix of textures: jammy pieces of courgette (zucchini), frizzled bits of spring onion (scallion), salty nuggets of Parmesan, crunchy walnuts and perfectly cooked pasta.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
60ml olive oil, plus more if you like
60g walnut pieces or almonds, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt
2 bunches spring onions (scallions)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes, plus more to taste (optional)
450g courgettes (zucchini) (about 2 medium), thinly sliced
1 x 60-85g jar capers, drained
225g dried pasta, such as rigatoni or another short tube shape
2-3 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar, plus more to taste
60-85g hunk of Parmesan cheese, coarsely chopped or crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
2 handfuls fresh herbs, such as parsley, coriander (cilantro), dill and/or mint (a mix is great)

DO AHEAD
This pasta salad truly gets better with time, and it’s best when the salad has had a chance to sit at room temperature for a while before serving (low maintenance at its finest). Otherwise, it can be made 3 days ahead, wrapped and refrigerated.

METHOD 
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the walnuts and fry until deeply golden brown and smelling almost like popcorn, 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the nuts (leaving the oil behind) and transfer them to a small bowl. Season with salt and set aside.

Thinly slice about one-third of the spring onions; set aside. Coarsely chop the remaining spring onions (the whole thing) and add to the skillet with the oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook over a medium-high heat until they’re lightly browned at the edges, bordering on ‘melty’, 8–10 minutes.

Add the chilli flakes (if using) and half of the courgettes, season with salt and pepper and cook down until tender and translucent, 10-15 minutes. Once there, add the remaining courgettes (you should have more space in your skillet now) and additional olive oil, if needed. Season again with salt and pepper. Add the capers and cook for another 8-10 minutes: The ideal pasta salad will have some courgette that’s very soft and tender and some that’s got a touch more bite.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta until just past al dente. (You aren’t cooking it again, so it should be fully cooked but not mushy.) Drain and rinse under cold water; set aside.

Transfer the courgette mixture to a large bowl and add the garlic, lemon juice and reserved thinly sliced spring onions; season everything with salt and pepper. Add the pasta and gently toss to coat. (I don’t even use a spoon here – just some casual bowl tossing.) Season again with more chilli flakes and lemon juice if you think it needs it.

Add half of the Parmesan, half of the fried walnuts and half of the herbs and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl (or serve out of the bowl you just made it in) and top with the remaining Parmesan, walnuts and herbs.This is an edited extract from Something from Nothing by Alison Roman, published by Quadrille. Available in stores nationally from the 11th of November. Photography by Chris Bernabeo.