Today’s Tasty Pick: Baby marrow and corn pasta salad with avo pesto sauce

Gone are the heavy stews and carb-loaded comfort meals (for now); it’s time to let crisp veggies, vibrant greens, and feel-good ingredients take the spotlight.

This Baby marrow and corn pasta salad with avo pesto sauce is the kind of dish that ticks all the boxes: fresh, healthy, satisfying, and ridiculously easy to throw together.

Think tender baby marrows, juicy bursts of sweet corn, and pasta — all tossed in a creamy avocado pesto that’s as green as your spring garden dreams. It’s light enough for lunch, hearty enough for dinner, and pretty enough to take center stage at your next picnic, braai, or potluck.

Plus, it just feels good to eat this way — like your body and taste buds are finally on the same page. Healthy, but never boring. Wholesome, but full of flavour.

How to make a Baby marrow and corn pasta salad with avo pesto sauce

Serves: 6 as a side
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 corn cobs, cut kernels off cobb
• Salt and pepper
• ½ x 500 g packet Farfalle pasta (bows)
• Avocado or olive oil
• 3 medium baby marrows, thinly sliced
• 60 ml (¼ cup) salad dressing

For the avo pesto sauce

• 2 avocados, sliced
• 2 handfuls basil + extra
• 60 ml (¼ cup) feta, crumbled + extra
• 125 ml (½ cup) plain yoghurt

Method:

1. Cook the corn in salted boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain. Cook over hot coals or a griddle pan for about 5 minutes or until charred all over. Cool, then slice the kernels off.
2. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 10 minutes until cooked. Drain.
3. Heat a splash of oil on high and fry the baby marrows for about 3 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a bowl and pour over the salad dressing. Mix through the pasta.
4. For the pesto sauce, blitz ½ of the avocados with the remaining ingredients until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Mix through the pasta with the corn. Place on a serving platter.
5. Top with remaining avocado, extra basil and extra feta.

Variation:

• Use penne pasta instead of Farfalle pasta.

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