29-05-2025
A Pasta Salad in Grain Salad's Clothing
On Saturday, I arose to a holiday weekend rarity: no plans, no responsibilities.
With nowhere to be and no one to see, I did my best to revel in the boredom. I made a laborious green juice. I toasted some sourdough and soft-scrambled some eggs. I lit a candle. I threw on a record. Perhaps I'd meander to the farmers' market, I told a friend similarly enjoying what she called a 'Saturday of nothingness.'
It had been longer than I'd like to admit since I last perused the stalls. Rhubarb! Strawberries! Green onions tall enough to bypass a Hinge height filter! In a trance, I scooped up some snap peas, a bunch of radishes, a bridal bouquet's worth of mint. Much like my weekend, I had no plans for any of it.
Then I saw Hetty Lui McKinnon's new herby pearl couscous and sugar snap pea salad, which would make quick use of much of my bounty. It's a pasta salad with grain-salad sensibilities, a distant, springy relative of tabbouleh. You know, the 'our dads are best friends' kind of cousin. Snap peas, mint, parsley and plenty of lemon lend layers of bright flavor, and a little unexpected warmth from allspice keeps things balanced.
View this recipe.
But I bought far more snap peas and mint than any one recipe should call for. I always enjoy my snap peas raw, or simply blanched, but the tender, nearly caramelized vegetables in this crispy baked tofu from Melissa Clark make a compelling case for letting them hang out in a 400 degree oven for half an hour.
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