Hazelnut and Feta Pasta Salad

And a review of Detroit-style pizza in Westbourne Park

We’ve finally reached the heights of summer, so it’s only right that Pasta Month include a pasta salad. I’ve had this recipe in mind for a while, and I love the satisfying textures you get from the roasted hazelnuts, herbs and feta. Further down are my thoughts on the Grandma Pies served up at Ria’s, in a part of London that will always feel foreign to me.

Pasta salads are something I don’t eat enough of. I think I got scared off them for over a decade when we made one which was equal parts pasta and mayonnaise in year 8 food tech. Revisiting the pasta salad has been a rewarding thing, though. It’s pleasingly quick to make, when all you want is to have a meal ready fast and get outside in the sun. There’s plenty of protein in this one too, from good bedfellows hazelnuts and feta, so it’s filling enough for lunch or dinner. But you could also serve it as a side to grilled meat or fish.

Brought together with just 6 or 7 ingredients, this recipe can be easily doubled or tripled if you’re wanting to feed a crowd. I went for orzo here but you could use any small pasta shape you have. The long, pale Turkish green peppers in this recipe are great, and tastier than green bell peppers, but if that’s all you can find don’t worry: the lemon juice and currants bring tartness and sweetness to balance any pepper bitterness. Equally this would work really nicely with green peas or mushrooms in place of the green peppers, if you’re not a fan, so choose what makes you happy.

Hazelnut and Feta Pasta Salad