Summer Pasta Salad

Step 1

Make Green Tahini Sauce. You can do this up to 5 days in advance. The easy recipe can be found here and made in just 5 minutes. Put all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.

Step 2

Bring 3 quarts water to a rolling boil. Stir in pasta. Cooking on high heat, stirring frequently. DO . NOT OVERCOOK PASTA!! Test for doneness a couple minutes BEFORE directed on the package. I use GF rice pasta. The package said to cook for 12 minutes. I found 10 minutes to be the perfect amount of time so the pasta wasn't mushy/gummy and still had a bit of bite to it. DO NOT RINSE PASTA after it's cooked.

Step 3

While pasta is cooking, prepare remaining ingredients. Thinly slice shallot and halve the tomatoes. Make the dressing if you haven't already.

Step 4

Before draining pasta, set aside 1/2 cup cooking water. Then drain, but do not rinse.

Step 5

Combine pasta, sauce, spinach, peas, chick peas, sunflower seeds and shallots. Mix well. It's OK if the spinach gets a bit wilted. If sauce is too thick to distribute evenly, add set aside pasta water 1-2 Tablespoons at a time.

Step 6

Serve warm or room temp. Pasta salad will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring to room temp before eating for best taste.