Egg Florentine Pasta Salad

5 from 1 vote

This Egg Florentine Pasta Salad combines the classic flavours of Egg Florentine. Egg, spinach & lemon combine perfectly with pine nuts, Parmesan and basil.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: Italian, Worldwide

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 511kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

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.

Nutrition