10 mins
Super easy
serves 4
About the recipe
Brilliantly simple and totally tasty, this portable pasta salad makes the perfect on-the-go lunch, boasts 2 of your 5-a-day and can be thrown together in just 10 minutes flat – a delicious alternative to a lunchbox sarnie. Make this the night before and pop it in the fridge if you want to get ahead, and feel free to scale up or down, depending on who you’re feeding.
Ingredients
300g dried pasta shells
1 cucumber
500g ripe tomatoes
1 bunch of fresh basil (30g)
optional: 1 fresh red chilli
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
125g baby spinach
80g feta cheese
Top Tip
If you have any leftover spinach, try adding handfuls to soups, stews and pasta dishes, or whiz raw into dressings, sauces or smoothies for a veg boost.
Method
- Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.
- Coarsely grate the cucumber, squeeze out the excess liquid, then place in a large bowl. Halve and grate in the tomatoes, discarding any skin and excess seeds.
- Tear in most of the basil leaves, then finely slice and add the chilli (if using), along with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar.
- Drain and refresh the pasta under cold running water, then tip into the bowl and toss everything together well. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
- Arrange the spinach leaves over the base of a lunchbox or platter and pile the pasta on top. Scatter over the feta and remaining basil leaves.
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