Spring Pasta Salad with asparagus & mushrooms and a Lemony Parsley Dressing. Simple and delicious!
A friend stopped by with some fresh morel mushrooms the other day, and this is what became of them – a simple recipe for Spring Pasta Salad with Asparagus, Morels & Lemon Parsley Dressing. Of course, you don’t have to have morels to make this salad, most any mushroom will do, but tis’ the season.
This can be served at room temperature, or chilled to serve later. The zesty flavorful dressing is refreshing and bright and compliments spring veggies very well. Use rice noodles to make this gluten free. The salad whips up quickly and easily — perfect for your next gathering or weekday lunches. Keep it vegan or dust with Pecorino, and of course you can substitute gluten-free pasta.
These foraged morels came from a friend’s family farm on the Palouse.
Of course you can substitute other mushrooms here- shiitakes, cremini, portobellos, etc.
Cut them and give them a quick saute with olive oil and shallot and salt, taking care not to over cook, which may make them too soft, and cause them to disintegrate in the pasta salad.
Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces, discarding the tough ends. Saute these until just tender.
While the pasta is cooking and the veggies are sauteing, chop the parsley and scallions, using the entire bunch of each.
Drain the pasta, place in a bowl and top with the veggies, herbs, lemon zest and juice and olive oil. Add salt and pepper and toss well. It’s ready to serve now, or chill for later.
Brian likes a little pungent cheese grated over top, like Pecorino or Parmesan. I added some chili flakes to mine.
Enjoy the Spring Pasta Salad and let us know what you think in the comments below.
xoxo
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Spring Pasta Salad with Asparagus, Mushrooms & Lemon Parsley Dressing
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: salad, pasta salad
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A flavorful Spring-inspired Pasta Salad with Spring Vegetables and a Zesty Lemon Parsley dressing.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta ( use rice noodles to make this gluten-free)
- 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot – finely chopped (or 1/3 cup finely chopped onion)
- 6 ounces mushrooms (morels, creminis, white button, shiitakes)
- 1 bunch asparagus: cut into 1-inch pieces – snap off tough ends. (2–3 cups)
- salt and pepper
- 1 bunch Italian Parsley- chopped ( about 1 cup packed)
- 3–4 scallions, chopped
- optional 1–2 tablespoon fresh tarragon
Dressing
Instructions
- Place salted pasta water to boil on the stove, cook pasta according to directions.
- Finely chop the shallot and prep the mushrooms (cut the morels in half or bite-size pieces)
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat, add shallot and cook 3 minutes, until fragrant. Add mushrooms, season with salt and stir occasionally until lightly cooked about 5 minutes. Set aside and saute the asparagus, seasoning again with salt, and cook just until tender and bright green.
- Drain the pasta and place in a bowl. Top with the mushrooms, asparagus, the chopped parsley and scallions. Add the lemon zest and one tablespoon lemon juice. Add garlic, optional tarragon, olive oil, salt and pepper toss well to combine. Taste, adding more lemon juice or salt if you like.
- Add cheese if you like-keep in mind the cheese will add salt, as well.
Notes
Feel free to add other veggies: English peas, snow peas.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup without cheese
- Calories: 272
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 567 mg
- Fat: 12.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.1 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 5.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
My sister gave me some asparagus and I had all the other ingredients. Fabulous dish!!
Wonderful Charlotte, great to hear!
So light & refreshing for spring!
Thanks for the review El!
Delicious—filled with the bounties of Spring!
So happy you enjoyed it!
Really really yummy! I ate at least half a batch by myself in one sitting. More flavorful than anticipated and felt so healthy eating it. Tried with and without Parmesan, and my husband and I preferred without. We don’t love parsley, so next time I’ll use less and chop it up finer or experiment with different herbs. I will save this recipe and make again and again.
Love it Lisa, so glad you are enjoying.
I made this, for tonight’s dinner. It is delicious. It has the elements that appeal to me mushrooms, pasta, lemon, etc. I definitely will be making this again. P.S. I had seconds.
Great to hear!
This recipe was absolutely perfect. We’re just heading into spring now in New Zealand and I couldn’t have asked for a better dish to celebrate. Crunchy, fresh, zesty and creamy. Perfect balance of flavours.
Thanks Oliver, Happy Spring!
Wondering how this would work with spaghetti squash. Anyone try that? I added some red pepper flakes and thought this was really yummy.
I haven’t Lisa- but sounds good. Only hesitation is the dressing- I can’t picture it together with the squash. Actually, there is another recipe on the blog (if you search in the search bar) for Spaghetti squash with mushrooms and sage- served warm, I wonder if that might suit better?
Just made this – AMAZING! Followed the recipe closely, only adding more Parmesan. Will certainly make this again – however, since a glass of Morels is 30 bucks over here, might try with different Mushrooms. Any suggestions?
Hey Marco- I’ve use shiitakes and cremini’s as well. 🙂
I’ve made this twice after long days volunteering at the vaccination clinic. Simple, delicious recipe – my new comfort food. Thanks for such splendid, easy to follow recipes, Sylvia.
Thanks Peggy and thanks for volunteerning!
Quick and delicious! I added some peas and crushed pistachios which gave it some great texture.
Made this last night as a side with the Harissa grilled Lamb chops and the roasted Moroccan carrots. Beautiful plate and all delicious! I’m going to light heat for dinner tonight with a ball of burrata. Love your recipes. @tortamore for photo.
Thanks Ellen! Appreciate you sharing on instagram!
I really enjoyed this 😊
I would highly recommend.
I added a little bit of cayenne pepper to add a bit of heat.
A flavorful dish. Light, but filling. Trying it cold for lunch tomorrow. My son recommended it and he knows good food.
So glad you liked this Debbie!
A flavorful dish. Light, but filling. Trying it cold for lunch tomorrow. My son recommended it and he knows good food.
Fresh, light and tasty. Was pretty quick to throw together too
Thanks Elizabeth~!
I made this last Sunday evening, using freshly made fettuccine, from the pasta maker my youngest son sent me for mother’s day. The dish was awesome, so light and flavorful! So lemony and perfect with asparagus from our family farm. I do need a little practice with the pasta, however!
I bet this was extra good with homemade pasta! I will have to try that!
I thought as I was cleaning up my kitchen after this fabulous dinner, that I had to leave a review.
This was spectacular! Spring has finally arrived and this was the perfect pasta to celebrate. It was light, but so very flavorful. II had to stop myself after 1 serving.
Sylvia, thank you for this recipe and all of the others that I have compiled from your site. Looking forward to many more.
Awww… thank you Jan, really appreciate you taking the time to comment and share!
Hi Sylvia,
I can’t wait to try this! Other websites that I frequent for recipes have an option to save recipes after we log into the account if we see something that we want to make.
Would you consider adding a feature like that? I would love to save a tree! ☺️
Thanks for the feedback Jamie! I will look into it!
Any tricks for cleaning morels? I buy wild ones and never manage to get all the grit out…
Hi Bri- Great question. I prefer to keep Morels dry and use a brush to gently remove dirt. If they are VERY dirty, as a last resort, you can soak in water, but then dry them again before using! Spread them out over a paper towel, pat dry well, perhaps let them sit uncovered on the counter or fridge so water evaporates a bit.
Does the garlic go in raw?
Yes, it goes in the dressing raw. It’s optional but adds a nice bite.
i definitely am craving a bowlful of pasta right now, this is beautiful and i LOVE the photos! Xx
That looks sooo good – I want some right NOW. I shall ‘pin’ it and try to make soon. Thank you 🙂 . PS, I always look forward to your Saturday post. Hope you are having a lovely weekend!
thanks so much Heather!!!