Skip to main content

Love Affair with Food Network

While Tim's been away, I've been carrying on a torrid affair...with whole wheat pasta. Seriously, I found a Food Network recipe that takes only a few minutes to make, is super healthy, and includes nuts and cheese. Could you ask for more?


Whole-Wheat Pasta Salad with Walnuts and Feta Cheese
2006, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
1/2 pound whole-wheat fusilli or other spiral shaped pasta
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 1/2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta, rinse it under cold water, and put it in the refrigerator to chill.

In a dry saute pan toast the walnuts over a medium-high flame until they are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Set the walnuts aside to cool then chop them coarsely.

In a large bowl, toss together the chilled pasta, walnuts, feta cheese, onion, and spinach. In a small bowl whisk the oil, vinegar, garlic and mustard. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Comments

Mary said…
Sounds delicious!! I've never used walnut oil before...is it hard to find?
3:33 PM
Amy said…
Truth? I used olive oil. Tasted fine to me. I bet you can get walnut oil at New Pi, tho.
7:22 PM
AnneR said…
Unhealthy confession: I can't stomach whole wheat pasta. But otherwise sounds yummy. I applaud you for finding the only Food Network star who doesn't go through a pound of butter per show.
7:41 PM
Amy said…
I have found that you need to overcook whole wheat pasta. It's so chewy otherwise that the texture is all wrong. But hey, if you're not hot on whole wheat, I'd say substitute regular and it'll be fab anyway.
8:33 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holy Separated-At-Birth, Batman!

Gary Oldman...meet Uncle Knit-Knots from Imagination Movers.
Post a Comment
Read more

So, I Changed My Mind

More than four years ago, the blog and I parted ways. I needed a change. A whole lot happened in my world since then. I switched jobs a couple times. My kid went from an elementary school tween to a teenage high schooler. We built a new house and moved. Both my parents and my sister have passed. The world around me changed as well. Mass shootings, racism, the #metoo movement, a misogynistic bigoted narcissist in the White House ... go ahead, add to the list. Toss your woes into this dumpster fire we call 2019.  I appreciate my previous sentiment, that I was no longer wandering. But let's be honest, we're all trying to find our way through this mess. I decided to reboot the blog to give myself a creative outlet, a way to sort through the confusion and frustration and attempt to make sense of it all. I have a voice, and I'm not keen to silence it anymore. Guess what? I'm back, bitches.
Post a Comment
Read more

In memoriam...

I remember the first time I heard the name "Les Anderson." A bunch of Wichita State University communication majors were sitting around on campus, talking about classes they planned to take. Several people warned me: watch out for Les Anderson. He was tough. He had a murderous grading scale. It was nearly impossible to get an A. They weren't kidding. But he wasn't tough just to be a tyrant. From his teaching sprang a fleet of incredible, successful journalists, writers, editors, broadcasters, public relations experts, advertisers, non-profit professionals...I could go on and on. Most importantly, he created a legion of people who wanted to make a difference in the world. The greatest gift Les gave to them all? He believed in them, cared about them for their own personal stories as well as the stories they told for class assignments or in the pages of his hometown newspaper. Les was my teacher. My boss. My mentor. My conscience. My champion. My friend. When I started c...
5 comments
Read more