Egg Florentine Pasta Salad
This Egg Florentine Pasta Salad combines the classic flavours of Egg Florentine. Egg, spinach & lemon combine perfectly with pine nuts, Parmesan and basil.
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 Hard boiled eggs – cooled , shells removed
- 100 g/ 4 oz Pasta (cavatelli is good, but any small pasta will do)
- 2 Handfuls spinach leaves (approx. 80g/2 ½ cups)
- 10 Cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese shavings
- 1 tablespoon Pine nuts
- Salad cress – optional
For the Dressing:
- 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon Olive oil
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
- pinch Cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon Crème fraiche
- 4 Large basil leaves
To Garnish
- Extra Parmesan and a few basil leaves
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet, drain and leave to cool
- Thinly slice the eggs into circles and set aside
- Slice the spinach leaves thinly and place in a large bowl. Quarter the cherry tomatoes and add to the bowl along with the Parmesan & pine nuts. Add the cress (if using)
- Put the first 5 ingredients for the dressing into a screw cap jar and shake for 30 seconds to blend well. Chop the basil leaves finely and add to the dressing
- Pour the dressing into the bowl and, using your hands, give everything a gently but thorough mix. Add the cooled pasta and mix again
- Share the salad between 2 bowls or plates and top each with the sliced egg. Garnish with extra Parmesan shavings and a few basil leaves, if desired. Eat immediately
Notes
I used some fantastic cavatelli pasta that I brought back from Rome last October. Cavatelli are small shells of pasta that have a slightly rolled-in edge. It is popular in Southern Italy. If you can't get hold of it, you can substitute another small shape in it's place - such as Gnoccheti Sardo, or tiny pasta shells.