Summer Herb Pasta Salad

Time :1 35

Yield :8 servings

Recipe Background

When the time has finally come to put away the puffy coats and pull out the jean shorts, then you know what that means! You must throw the first backyard bash of the season. To celebrate the freshness, it's basically a requirement to serve this Summer Herb Pasta Salad alongside all those delicious meats you're grilling up. This blend of crisp and cool veggies and herbs with some bouncy rotini pasta will be the perfect, refreshing flare your food fest needed. Ahh, it's nice to have the warm weather back so we can properly enjoy this Summer Herb Pasta Salad!

Ingredients

4 cups tri-color rotini
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
8 cups spinach thick stems removed
1/2 cup fresh basil torn
1/3 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup fresh dill
1/3 cup fresh chives cut into 2-inch-long pieces
1/4 cup fresh tarragon
1 cup parmesan shaved, divided

Directions

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the rotini to al dente, according to the package directions. Drain the water.
In a large bowl, add the olive oil, the lemon zest, the lemon juice, the salt, and the black pepper and whisk to combine.
Add the cooked rotini to the dressing mixture and toss to coat.
Place the rotini mixture in the refrigerator to cool, about 1 hour.
Add the spinach, the basil, the parsley, the dill, the chives, the tarragon, and 1/2 of the parmesan cheese to the rotini mixture and toss to combine.
Serve the pasta salad garnished with the remaining parmesan cheese.