We are now entering pasta salad season, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. Easy to assemble and delicious at room temperature, at first glance you might think that pasta salads are perfect in bentos. There are a few things to watch out for though, in order to make sure that your salad is as safe as it is delicious at lunchtime. I also have a super-easy Chickpea and Pasta Salad recipe that is very bento-friendly; t’s vegetarian (easily converted to being vegan), to fit in with the theme for this month.
A lot of people probably make a pasta salad for dinner, and bring the leftovers for lunch the next day, since it’s so easy to make a little extra. If you do this, the following safety tips are particularly important.
This is a very easy, bento-friendly vegetarian pasta salad. It’s bento-friendly since it has no mayonnaise or onions in it. It becomes a vegan salad just by omitting the goat cheese.
This makes about 4 cups of salad, enough for 2 bentos (or 1 very generous bento.) However, you could make a quantity of the marinated chickpeas and store it in the refrigerator for a few days.
The marinated chickpeas:
Drain and (if you’re using canned) rinse the chickpeas. Pat dry with paper towels. Combine all the ingredients and toss well. Let marinate, covered, in the refrigerator overnight or up to 4-5 days.
For the salad:
Cook the pasta in salted water (the method using just a little water works well here). Add the snow peas at the last minute or two to cook them too.
While the pasta is cooking, cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Cut or crumble the goat cheese.
Drain the pasta well, and take out the snow peas. Slice the snow peas into slivers.
Toss the still hot pasta with the marinated chickpeas, including the marinade (take out the raw garlic). Add the tomatoes and toss more. Since the pasta is warm, it will slightly ‘cook’ the tomatoes, making a sort of sauce. Add the cheese and the snow peas, and taste to see if you need to add any seasoning (a little extra grind of pepper may be needed). Let cool completely. (Putting it into a metal tray or bowl will help to cool it down faster.)
Make sure the lettuce leaves are completely dry (pat dry if needed with kitchen or paper towels) and line your bento box. Add the pasta salad and the optional radishes.
I used the type of radish called French Breakfast in the U.S. here - they have a sort of watercolor quality about them, which make them much prettier I think than regular round radishes (though I love those too). I cut them into little tulips, by making little diagonal cuts into the middle of each, in the way devilled eggs are often cut. After cutting, I salted them lightly (which enhances the flavor while cutting the sharpness a bit), and packed them into the corner of the bento. I didn’t mix them into the pasta salad because the radishes do exude some moisture.
If you don’t want to bother with cutting the tulip shapes, just slice the radishes - or even leave them whole.
(Incidentally, it’s tough photographing pasta salads so that they don’t look like a mess! This one looks a bit messy, but it is tasty I promise.)
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Re: Spring Pasta and Chickpea Salad and Bento-Friendly ...
This looks so tasty and colorful! I'll have to try making those radish tulips soon! My grandma taught me how to make radish roses once upon a time, so now I can make a whole bouquet out of vegetables, haha ^_^
Re: Spring Pasta and Chickpea Salad and Bento-Friendly ...
Wow! It looks and sounds REALLY good! Thanx for sharing the recipe! Can't wait to try! ^^
Re: Spring Pasta and Chickpea Salad and Bento-Friendly ...
This salad looks amazing! I love radishes - yum! And thanks for all the handy tips!
Re: Spring Pasta and Chickpea Salad and Bento-Friendly ...
I made this for lunch today, though I did not let my chickpeas marinate overnight. I think it will be absolutely delicious though. I also made a few changes, but hope to have kept with the spirit of the salad. I added some dill and basil and used chardonnay vinegar for the lemon juice (we didn't have any!) I am looking forward to more fresh bento recipes like this! Thanks for sharing!
Re: Spring Pasta and Chickpea Salad and Bento-Friendly ...
I like the colours and the tulips, of course, they add a little bit of magic in this hard life!
For those of you that LOVE Mayo
EGGLESS SOY MAYONNAISE
1 c. rich soy milk
4 tsp. honey or rice syrup
1 to 1 1/2 c. safflower oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Blend first 2 ingredients on a low speed, gradually adding oil until it whips up and no longer agitates. Scoop into a bowl and whip in (with a fork or whisk) the next two ingredients, adding gradually. Mixture will stiffen. Add last two ingredients. Mix well and chill. Serve just like mayonnaise.
Re: Spring Pasta and Chickpea Salad and Bento-Friendly ...
本日のお弁当にこのレシピを参考に作らせていただきました。味にうるさい夫もおいしいと言ってくれました。ありがとうございました。写真だけ見てたら難しそうなお料理ですが、思ったより手軽に作れました。一番時間がかかったのがラディシュのチューリップでしたが、これも意外と簡単にできたのでとてもうれしかったです。(母はお弁当に卵をこのラディッシュのように切って入れてくれてました)
Re: Spring Pasta and Chickpea Salad and Bento-Friendly ...
I have made many salads for our bentos, but this one is the BEST!
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