pasta salad with quorn wild garlic sausages, courgette, peas and asparagus and a lemon yoghurt dressing

… as always my timing couldn’t be worse, the UK has just had the most glorious weekend of weather and today of course it all changed and things are back to normal with rain, grey skies and unseasonably cool weather.  It always makes me laugh when the ‘people’ at the weather centre tell us that there’s going to be an unprecedented heat-wave because they really never know and this perpetual annual teasing does nothing for the psych for those of us having to endure whatever actually comes our way which is why I try my hardest just to simply ignore it and either plan the little details on a daily basis or simply go ahead with that al-fresco dining ambiance regardless… I guess we shouldn’t grumble but then we wouldn’t be British now would we?

pasta salad with quorn wild garlic sausages, courgette, peas and asparagus and lemon yoghurt dressing
it may be just me but I find it so hard to bake cakes when the weather is fine, all things egg, sugar and butter related can be a pain in the arse to get right and the heat from the oven can be particularly miserable so a light and healthy salad with a little va-va-voom can never go a miss…these tomberries, for instance are an instant hit this time of year and should be treasured when they come to the shelves… as you all know The Viking is a big fan of quorn products and they seem to be approving with each year that passes.  Their original range of the like of sausages, mince and chicken style pieces are still great and in-fact are now tasting better than ever plus they also have a range of new, seasonal products such as the wild garlic and parsley sausages i’ve used here and i’m more than happy to eat them with him as an alternative to anything that may have once been living…

for the salad
2 packets of Quorn Wild Garlic and Parsley Sausages – sliced
300g pasta – I used these gorgeous giant pasta shells or lumaconi
a large cupful of frozen peas
a bunch of fresh British asparagus – roughly chopped
3 mini courgettes – thickly sliced
a selection of salad leaves (one mixed bag should cover it)
1 packet of tomberry tomatoes
fresh chives – roughly chopped
2 tablespoons capers
seasoning
olive oil
a little grated parmesan

for the dressing
3 tablespoons fresh mayonnaise – see recipe here
3 tablespoons Total Greek Yoghurt
the juice and zest of half a lemon
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey

this can all be made in advance or done on the hoof if you like it slightly warm

cut your sausages into chunky slices, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast in an oven set to 180C for 20 mins or until golden, then set aside

in a large pot cook the pasta until soft, then drain and run through with cold water and drain again, drizzle with olive oil and throw in a handful or two of grated parmesan and toss together – set aside

in a small pot gently boil the vegetables until nearly soft – I like a little bite – drain, season with black pepper and set aside to cool

place all the salad ingredients into a very large bowls along with the cooling pasta and vegetables and toss together

in a smaller bowl add the salad dressing ingredients and whisk together

place the cooked sausages into the salad, pour the creamy dressing on top and toss it all together before plating up

eat and of course, enjoy!