I am going through the phase of having a warm salad for dinner.
This salad has all the warmth (from the harissa) and the fiery colours that could brighten my otherwise dreary winter nights in Bathurst. Not to mention I have included skinless sausages – a newly discovered ingredient which I am currently obssessed with.
Plus it got all the ticks for the “Emily’s perfect meal checklist”:-
Carb? Tick.
Meat? Tick.
Veggie? Tick.
Flavour? Tick.
Substantial and filling? Tick.
Colourful Pasta Salad with Skinless Sausages (lightly dressed with Harissa Vinaigrette)
Generous servings for two
Ingredients:
- 375g / 13 oz colourful short pasta (I used 1 packet of San Remo’s Vegeroni Large Spirals)
- 300g / 11 oz skinless sausages aka ‘chevap’ – about 6 sausages ( can be purchased from Coles and Woolworths in a tray of 10 sausages)
- 1 small red bell pepper (capsicum), sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- A good handful of fresh mint leaves (they are more than just a garnish for this salad)
Harissa Vinaigrette
- 1 tsp harissa paste (I bought mine from a local grocer, Country Fruit Market Bathurst)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice from half a lime
- 1 tsp maple syrup (or golden syrup or honey) – please adjust to taste
- 1 tsp of soy sauce – please adjust to taste
Emily’s note – If you like more dressing, you could increase the olive to 1/2 cup, juice the whole lime, and add more maple syrup and soy sauce to taste. Harissa paste is some spicy stuff. So I won’t recommend you to add more than 1 tsp (even 1 tsp may be too much for some of you who aren’t used to spicy food!). If you don’t have harissa paste at home, you can finely chop 1 fresh chilli and add a teaspoon of ground cumin.
Methods:
- Arrange the sausages on a baking paper lined tray. Cook them in a preheated oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 392 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until they are fully cooked.
- In the meantime, cook pasta in a salted water as per the packet instructions. Drained and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
- Slice onion and capsicum. Set aside with the pasta.
- Wash and trim the mint leaves. Set aside with the pasta.
- When the sausages are cooked, slice diagonally and set aside with the pasta.
- To prepare the vinaigrette, add all the vinaigrette ingredients into a jug.
{Spicy harissa}
- Whisk all the ingredients until emulsify. Taste the dressing, add more maple syrup or soy sauce if necessary.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad. Mix all the salad ingredients together until well combined. Serve immediately.
Colourful Pasta Salad with Skinless Sausages (lightly dressed with Harissa Vinaigrette)
Generous servings for two
Ingredients:
- 375g / 13 oz colourful short pasta (I used 1 packet of San Remo’s Vegeroni Large Spirals)
- 300g / 11 oz skinless sausages aka ‘chevap’ – about 6 sausages ( can be purchased from Coles and Woolworths in a tray of 10 sausages)
- 1 small red bell pepper (capsicum), sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- A good handful of fresh mint leaves (they are more than just a garnish for this salad)
Harissa Vinaigrette
- 1 tsp harissa paste (I bought mine from a local grocer, Country Fruit Market Bathurst)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice from half a lime
- 1 tsp maple syrup (or golden syrup or honey) – please adjust to taste
- 1 tsp of soy sauce – please adjust to taste
Emily’s note – If you like more dressing, you could increase the olive to 1/2 cup, juice the whole lime, and add more maple syrup and soy sauce to taste. Harissa paste is some spicy stuff. So I won’t recommend you to add more than 1 tsp (even 1 tsp may be too much for some of you who aren’t used to spicy food!). If you don’t have harissa paste at home, you can finely chop 1 fresh chilli and add a teaspoon of ground cumin.
Methods:
- Arrange the sausages on a baking paper lined tray. Cook them in a preheated oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 392 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until they are fully cooked.
- In the meantime, cook pasta in a salted water as per the packet instructions. Drained and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
- Slice onion and capsicum. Set aside with the pasta.
- Wash and trim the mint leaves. Set aside with the pasta.
- When the sausages are cooked, slice diagonally and set aside with the pasta.
- To prepare the vinaigrette, add all the vinaigrette ingredients into a jug.
- Whisk all the ingredients until emulsify. Taste the dressing, add more maple syrup or soy sauce if necessary.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad. Mix all the salad ingredients together until well combined. Serve immediately.
Beautiful pasta dish. Am sure it must be delicious too.
Thanks for your compliment. I enjoy this salad very much! 🙂
Looks bright, colourful and delicious! Will definitely tune in for more!
Welcome and thanks for your comment! 😀
Emily, this pasta is so beautiful! The colourful rotini is wonderful and I’m not sure I’ve ever come across skinless sausage before… how intriguing. I’m totally excited to try your vinaigrette – harissa paste (totally cool!) combined with lime and a touch of maple syrup, sounds heavenly to me.