Spaghetti Salad — The Pasta That Tasted Like Spring Arriving

May now and something about the light is different, which is helping. I have been taking a walk every morning before my students call — one of the few things I can still do that feels like my life before, just me and the Chicago spring and occasionally Patty still on the phone at 7:15. The neighborhood is quiet in a way it never is. There are people out, maintaining distance, nodding at each other. We have developed a lockdown sidewalk culture of brief acknowledgment that means something like: we are all still here, we are all still trying.

I made pasta primavera this week with the first spring vegetables at the farmers market, which is open with some restrictions and felt like an event worth making a special trip for. Asparagus, peas, a bunch of green onions, some radishes that I have never cooked before but went gorgeous when roasted. Tossed with pasta and olive oil and a lot of lemon. It is the first thing I have eaten in weeks that tasted like spring arrived. I stood at the stove eating it directly from the pan before Ryan got home and I felt, for a moment, almost normal.

Ryan proposed a cooking project this week: he wants to learn to make bread. I said sure, and dug out a simple no-knead recipe I have had forever. We made it together on Sunday — mix the dough Saturday night, leave it overnight, bake it in the Dutch oven Sunday morning. The apartment smelled incredible. The bread was imperfect (a little dense, a crust that fought back) and also the best thing either of us had made recently, because we made it together on purpose, which is different from making dinner because you have to eat.

The blog post was pasta primavera. The comments were full of people who had been to their local farmers markets for the first time. Something is shifting — people cooking who had not cooked, people going to markets who had only ordered delivery. I do not know what to make of all of it. I just keep writing the recipes.

That pan of pasta — asparagus, peas, lemon, all of it — reminded me that tossed pasta with bright, fresh things is one of the most forgiving recipes I know: it works with whatever the market has, it comes together without much fuss, and it somehow always tastes like a season turning. This spaghetti salad is the recipe I reach for when I want that same feeling in something I can make ahead and share — dressed in zesty Italian seasoning, loaded with vegetables, and better the longer it sits. It’s the kind of dish you bring to the stove or the table feeling a little uncertain, and leave feeling a little more like yourself.

Spaghetti Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 1 bottle (16 oz) Italian dressing
• 1 tablespoon Salad Supreme seasoning (or Italian seasoning blend)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium cucumber, quartered and sliced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives, drained
• 4 oz salami or pepperoni, sliced into strips (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking and cool the pasta completely.
2. Break it up. Transfer the cooled spaghetti to a large bowl. Use kitchen shears or your hands to break the strands into roughly 2–3 inch pieces — easier to toss and serve.
3. Add the vegetables. Add the cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, and olives to the bowl. If using salami or pepperoni, add it now.
4. Dress and season. Pour the Italian dressing over the pasta and vegetables. Sprinkle in the Salad Supreme seasoning and Parmesan. Toss everything together thoroughly until well coated.
5. Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, or overnight. The pasta will absorb some of the dressing as it sits — give it another toss and a drizzle of extra dressing if needed before serving.
6. Adjust and serve. Taste for salt, pepper, and seasoning. Serve cold, straight from the bowl.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 380 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 610mg