Minestrone Salad, and more!

For the 4th, 5th, or 6th

Jul 04, 2025

Hello everybody! Since this newsletter goes out on Friday, my timing for the weekend holiday is perhaps not so good since today is already the 4th. However, today’s recipe is an easy one to throw together at the last minute and enjoy anytime over this long weekend—and beyond—with stuff you already have on hand and can easily get. This post was inspired by the ragtag pantry I was facing after our move back home.

Everything we had, especially in the kitchen, was removed, stored for 6 months in a warehouse, and then returned, including the contents of the pantry. I’ve been inspired to clean things out a bit and get rid of stuff that’s way past its expiration date. I know it seems like pasta can’t go bad, and it doesn't really, but sometimes it can get little weevils (especially in whole grain pasta).

Anyway these little partial bags of pasta had to go, so I decided to make a pasta salad with them. Maybe it’s more of a salad that contains pasta, because it also features potatoes and beans, as well as other things (more on that later).

These three pasta shapes made for some textural and visual fun. As you can see, the regular penne nestled inside of the giant pennoni.

Food writers love to hate “pasta salad” mainly because there have been so many terrible versions of it, usually doused with vinegar and full of soggy vegetables. Perhaps it’s better to think of it as “room temperature pasta.” Believe me, this should be your potluck go-to. It’s one of those salads that travels well, sits well for a couple of hours, can be made ahead, and that you can riff on.

This pasta salad was inspired by minestrone soup, but just like the soup itself, the ingredients can be changed to suit what you have on hand. You can go homemade for some of the components, like the beans, the roasted peppers, or the pesto, but it’s really fast and easy if you use the prepared versions of these: canned beans, jarred roasted peppers, and store-bought pesto. Me being me, I cooked the beans because I had the time (and a box full of Rancho Gordo beans). I also roasted the pepper, because I found it pretty easy to do this on the gas burner while the pasta cooked, and I like the flavor better.

The pesto, however, I bought. I find there is usually a good refrigerated version on most supermarket shelves these days. In the past I’ve used Giovanni Rana, but this time I saw Gotham Greens and grabbed that. Both are respectable. Not being able to leave well enough alone, though, I whizzed it up in my mini chop with some fresh flat-leaf parsley so it would keep its vibrant green color (that’s the food stylist in me) and also added some pasta water to thin it out, which resulted in a creamier, less oily sauce that coated the ingredients beautifully. Even if you don’t want to dirty the food processor, I still advise thinning the pesto with some pasta water (or even bean liquid, especially if the beans are homemade) rather than adding more oil.

Some of what I found in my pantry. Yes, the pennoni was expired, as long as there were no little bugs in it, I considered it just fine. I did throw out that orecchiette though, which was also expired—I seemed to remember it fell apart when I cooked it. I’ll make a point of using the squid-ink busiate soon.

Now here’s the fun part: This salad—or any other pasta-based dish—can be made with the bits and bobs of pasta that you have taking up space in your pantry. The catch, of course, is that they probably won’t all have the same cooking time. There’s a simple solution for this. The cooking times on the packages are pretty accurate, so note the different times by jotting them down next to the pasta shape, and get the stopwatch on your phone started when the water boils and you’re ready to drop the first one. Hit “lap” every time you add another pasta, and keep an eye on the total time so you know when to start testing it.

One of my pastas (the strozzapreti) was in a Oxo container, so I just googled that one. It surprisingly had a longer cooking time (13–18 minutes) than the giant pennoni (12–14 minutes). Last was the penne rigate (10–12 minutes). I just added the pastas consecutively every 2 minutes and everything was done at the same time. I erred on the shorter side of the range so it would be al dente. Not only did this empty out my pantry, which I felt great about, but it’s fun to eat, too!

Use whatever vegetables you want to here. I love adding the potatoes and beans to make it a more interesting side dish.

Riffing is encouraged! Here are some ideas:

Add fresh peas
Add asparagus instead of snap peas
Omit the potatoes (but I wouldn’t!)
Add chopped kalamata olives or capers for some salty punch
Add some feta or ricotta salata instead of Parm
If using freshly cooked beans, use 1½ cups
If roasting your own pepper, use one red, yellow, or orange pepper
Add handfuls of fresh herbs at the end
Fold some arugula into the salad
Add cherry tomatoes (I added a handful picked from my garden!)
Etc.!

Just one more note: when I served this to my family last night, my stepdaughter Talia (mom of two young kids) who is very dishes-averse suggested I cook the potatoes in with the pasta, but for me I think it’s more trouble than it’s worth to save cleaning one not-very-dirty saucepan. If you want to try it, put the potatoes in the cold water before you bring it to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes after it comes to a boil. Then blanch the veggies in the pot as directed, try not to fish any of the potatoes out with them when you remove them, and continue cooking the pasta. I’d be a little afraid of not being able to cook the potatoes to the right point, since they benefit from sitting in the hot water before you drain them, but if it’s important to you to save washing an extra pot, do it!

Some other easy, seasonal recipes perfect for the long weekend!

All of the recipes linked below are available for free (some for a limited time!)

Minestrone Salad

Serves 6 to 8

8 to 12 ounces fingerling potatoes (I used a pint basket from the farmstand)
Kosher salt
4 ounces green beans, cut in half crosswise
4 ounces sugar snap peas
1 pound pasta, cooked al dente and rinsed
½ cup basil pesto
1 can (15.5 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar (6 ounces) roasted red peppers, drained and sliced into strips
Freshly ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Let sit in the hot water for another 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Slice into 1/2 inch coins.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Have ready a bowl of ice water. Add green beans and cook until bright green, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add snap peas and cook for another 30 seconds. Using a spider or slotted spoon, scoop the veggies out of the pot and place in a bowl of ice water until completely cool. Drain, pat dry and set aside.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Scoop out a cup of pasta water. Drain and rinse the pasta.
In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, pasta, pesto (thinned as desired with pasta water), green beans, snap peas, cannellini beans, peppers, and salt and pepper to taste. If preparing ahead of time, combine 1 or 2 hours ahead of time and keep chilled until 30 minutes before serving.