Yotam Ottolenghi's pasta salad with hazlenut pesto will soon become a firm favourite in you household!
N.B. These quantities will give you twice the amount of pesto you need for this dish, but it’s not worth making less, and anyway, it keeps for up to three days in the fridge, ready to be spooned over all sorts of other pasta, rice or quinoa salads, or alongside some grilled fish or chicken. You can make this anchovy-free, though if you do, add a little extra salt.
Serves four.
Ingredients
- 3 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges about 2-3cm wide
- 150ml olive oilSalt and black pepper
- 300g kale, stems removed (save them for a vegetable soup), leaves roughly torn into 4cm-wide pieces
- 100g blanched hazelnuts, lightly roasted and roughly chopped
- 150g feta, roughly crumbled into 1-2cm pieces
- 40g basil leaves, roughly torn2 anchovy fillets in oil, drained, rinsed, patted dry and finely chopped
- 150g orzo 1 litre boiling water
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 tbsp juice
Method
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Mix the onion wedges in a medium bowl with a tablespoon of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of pepper. Arrange on a 22cm x 33cm oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, and roast for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway so they cook evenly, until soft and caramelised. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Put 50g of the kale leaves in a food processor with half the hazelnuts, half the feta, half the basil, 75ml olive oil, all the anchovies, three tablespoons of water and a good grind of black pepper, and blitz to a rough paste.
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a medium saucepan on a medium-high flame, then fry half the remaining kale and a pinch of salt for a minute or two, stirring constantly, until it starts to brown and go crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and heat the last two tablespoons of oil in the same pan. Fry the remaining kale with a pinch of salt as before, then add to the first batch.
With the pan still on a medium-high heat, add the orzo and stir for one to two minutes, until it starts to toast and turn golden-brown, then carefully pour in the boiling water and add a teaspoon of salt. Leave the orzo to boil for six to eight minutes, until cooked but still with some bite, then drain; if you’re not planning on eating the salad straight away, refresh under cold water.
Put the drained pasta in a large bowl, add half the pesto and toss to coat. Gently stir in the roast onions, half the lemon zest, all the lemon juice, the remaining hazelnuts, feta and basil, fold in the crisped kale, then divide the salad between four shallow bowls (or serve it on one large platter). Sprinkle over the remaining lemon zest, and serve warm or at room temperature.
