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Mexican Pasta Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

The Mexican Pasta Salad is full of fresh, bright flavors (thanks, Green Goddess!) with just enough spice to keep things interesting. And it's vegan too.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 523kcal

Ingredients

For the Dressing

  • 5 medium tomatillos peeled of their husks, chopped, and quartered
  • ¼ cup lime juice from about 2 large limes
  • ½ medium white onion roughly chopped
  • 1 large handful cilantro about a packed cup
  • 1 handful flat leaf parsley about 1/2 cup
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce* (omit for vegan)
  • 2 cloves garlic smashed
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 ripe Haas avocado cut in chunks

For the Salad

  • 1 pound pasta your favorite short shape
  • 1 ½ cups cooked and rinsed black beans fresh or canned
  • 1 ½ cups sweet corn fresh or canned
  • ¾ cup diced red onion
  • ¾ cup chopped roasted red peppers fresh or canned
  • ½ cup chopped green chiles roasted fresh or canned
  • 1 cup vegan mayonnaise
  • hot sauce, to taste (preferably a green sauce) optional

Instructions

To Make the Dressing

  • Place all ingredients except the avocado, salt and pepper in the jar of your high speed blender (or regular blender).
  • Puree until smooth
  • Add the avocado and puree until smooth.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To Make the Salad

  • Cook the pasta in salted water until just shy of done.
  • While the pasta is cooking, put the black beans, corn, red onion, red pepper, and green chiles in a large bowl.
  • Mix in the vegan mayonnaise.
  • When the pasta is done, drain and rinse in cold water until it is warm and not hot.
  • Put the pasta in on top of the rest of the salad ingredients and pour the Green Goddess dressing over all.
  • Stir together, taste and season with salt, pepper, and some hot sauce if you like. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours to let the flavors blend, and enjoy.

Notes

*I know fish sauce sounds like a weird entry here, but traditional Green Goddess dressing, like Caesar dressing, contains anchovy. I always have fish sauce on hand, and it makes a good substitute. Your salad will not be fishy at all, but if you're not vegan, give it a try. Good fish sauce makes almost anything savory you add it to lip-smackingly delicious.

Nutrition

Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 525mg | Potassium: 543mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Vitamin C: 18.9mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2.2mg