This Provence-style kitchen sink pasta salad is the third in my series of kitchen sink salads. The first was my roasted pumpkin kitchen sink salad. The second went full Moroccan, with a couscous base and homemade preserved lemons. This time, I’ve created a fusilli pesto pasta salad as part of my “how I cook lamb” series. One batch of my mixed herb pesto serves as a condiment for grilled lamb backstraps and as the dressing for this pesto pasta salad.
An “everything but the kitchen sink” salad is just that: a salad whose purpose in life is to use up leftovers from the fridge, then be supplemented by a few pantry staples. But while I get the “everything but” bit, I prefer a more considered approach to a kitchen sink salad. My version is a hearty salad that’s packed with flavour, and the ingredients can be swapped in and out to reflect whatever cuisine you’re channelling for the meal you’re planning.
It’s an easy style of salad to make when you need to feed a large group. It also has the added benefit of being substantial enough to serve as a meatless main for vegetarian guests.
This salad comes with some necessary prep time, but each step is a simple everyday cooking task. You can also break the preparation of the components over two days.
Let me break it down for you: my Provence-style kitchen sink pasta salad recipe.
Provence-style kitchen sink pasta salad ingredients
The ingredients for this kitchen sink pasta salad are:
- 250g dry fusilli pasta
- 2 large red capsicums
- 12 large cherry tomatoes
- 80g walnuts (3/4 cup)
- 100g pitted green Sicilian olives (1/2 cup)
- 400g tin cannellini beans
- 150g small white pickled onions
- 100g semi sundried tomatoes
- 100g rocket leaves (4 loosely packed cups)
- 185ml mixed herb pesto (3/4 cup)
- 1 lemon
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
My basic template for this style of kitchen sink salad includes:
- A base grain or carbohydrate (fusilli pasta)
- Sauteed vegetables, particularly alliums (I’m swapping in semi sundried tomatoes)
- A fresh, frozen or tinned legume (cannellini beans)
- A roasted vegetable (red capsicum)
- Fresh vegetables (cherry tomatoes)
- Sour and/or salty flavour bombs (Sicilian olives, white pickled onions)
- A leafy green (rocket)
- A crunchy element (walnuts)
- Fresh herbs (mixed herb pesto)
- A vinaigrette dressing (made with the pesto)
Through making multiple versions of a kitchen sink salad, I’ve found that this combination of ingredients results in a flavourful, well-balanced salad that keeps my guests going back for seconds. Funnily enough everyone offers to take the leftovers home!
But don’t be pedantic even if that’s how I sound. Any of these categories can be left out or swapped for something entirely different.
Mixed herb pesto
I first developed my mixed herb pesto recipe out of necessity for the times when sourcing large quantities of sweet basil was virtually impossible and for when the quality of what is available is questionable. I also ditched the pricey pine nuts for walnuts.
After a lot of tweaking, my mixed herb walnut pesto has landed in its happy place. It’s not pretending to deliver the same sun-drenched energy as a perfect basil pesto. It’s more earthy, more savoury-herbal, and built around a Herbes de Provence-style mix—thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley, and a little sweet basil—with walnuts keeping it in that South of France mood. Lemon lifts it, honey rounds it out, and Parmigiano Reggiano makes sure it still behaves like pesto.
This isn’t a pasta sauce in my kitchen. This mixed herb walnut pesto is a condiment—especially for the lamb backstraps that are part of my ‘the way I cook lamb’ series. And, of course, with an extra squeeze of lemon and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil it transforms into a dressing for my Provence-style kitchen sink pasta salad.
Only two cooked elements to this pesto pasta salad recipe
There are only 2 cooked elements in this make-ahead pesto pasta salad: the fusilli, and the red capsicum. Everything else is assembly. And because this is a Provence-style kitchen sink pasta salad, I want the capsicum properly blistered and blackened so it tastes sweet and a little smoky once it’s chopped through the pasta.
Blacken the capsicum
My usual method is straight over the gas flame, then into a ziplock bag to steam. If you don’t have gas, use the oven grill. Heat the grill to high and set the rack close to the element. Put the capsicum halves on an unlined baking tray, skin-side up, then grill until the skins are blistered and well-charred, turning as needed. This is smoky. Turn the exhaust fan on before you start, and have your ziplock bag (or a lidded container) sitting open and ready on the bench so you can move quickly once they’re blackened.
As soon as the capsicum comes out, tip it straight into the ziplock bag and seal it, then leave it for about 10 minutes to steam. Rub off most of the charred skin, then give the capsicum a quick rinse to remove any stubborn black flakes and pat it dry.
Cook the pasta
Meanwhile, bring at least 3 litres of salted water to a boil in a large pot on high heat.
Add the fusilli pasta and cook at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally to stop the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Follow the packet instructions, checking regularly so the pasta doesn’t overcook. Remove from the heat when al dente and strain through a colander. Rinse the pasta thoroughly under cold running water to remove all the residual starch from the cooking water. This prevents the pasta from sticking together.
Refrigerate until required.
Prep the remaining salad ingredients
My routine is to assemble and prep all the ingredients before I start combining any of my kitchen sink style salads. Deseed the roasted capsicum and roughly chop it into bite-sized pieces. Thinly slice the semi sundried tomatoes. Roughly break up the walnuts. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves or quarters, depending on their size. Halve the Sicilian olives. Drain the tin of cannellini beans. Cut the white pickled onions in halves or thirds, then separate the layers into little pickled onion “petals”. Rinse and spin the rocket leaves in a salad spinner, or dry them between layers of paper towels.
Make the pesto dressing
In a small bowl, stir 185ml (¾ cup) mixed herb pesto with 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. The goal is a thick but viscous dressing that will coat and stick to the fusilli, integrating the pesto into the gaps in the pasta rather than sliding off and pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Assemble the kitchen sink pasta salad
The most important step in assembling this pesto pasta salad is to add the dressing to the cooked fusilli and mix it through thoroughly before you add anything else. It stops the other elements getting drowned in dressing, and it keeps the whole kitchen sink pasta salad looking sharp. It may be an “everything but the kitchen sink” situation, but it doesn’t have to look like dinner leftovers parked beside the kitchen sink.
I also soften the rocket leaves by spritzing or drizzling over a drop or two of extra virgin olive oil and mixing it through, then I add the leaves to the dressed pasta.
Next, I add about half the prepared capsicum, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, olives, cannellini beans, white pickled onions, and semi sundried tomatoes and mix them through. The salad can then be piled into your serving bowl, with the remaining ingredients tucked in amongst the pasta so it looks generous and intentional, not stirred-to-death.
These steps are best done just before serving to avoid the pesto starting to oxidise. But don’t fret too much—I find the fresh green colour usually holds for 4–6 hours before it shifts into a darker shade of green in this Provence-style kitchen sink pasta salad.
This fusilli pesto pasta salad and my mixed herb walnut pesto are a perfect combo for a Provence-style lunch. They deserve the best cut of lamb—lamb backstraps. It’s the final combo in my ‘the way I cook lamb’ series.
Provence-style Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad
Equipment
- 5L capacity pasta pot
- Colander
- Digital scales (optional)
- Salad spinner (optional)
- Citrus juicer (optional)
- Large salad serving bowl
Ingredients
- 250 g dry fusilli pasta
- 2 large red capsicums
- 12 large cherry tomatoes
- 80 g walnuts (3/4 cup)
- 100 g pitted green Sicilian olives (1/2 cup)
- 400 g tin cannellini beans
- 150 g small white pickled onions
- 100 g semi sundried tomatoes
- 100 g rocket leaves (4 loosely packed cups)
- 185 ml mixed herb pesto (3/4 cup)
- 1 lemon
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Char the red capsicums:
- Blacken 2 large red capsicums directly over a gas burner, turning with tongs until the skins are well blistered and charred all over.
- If you don’t have gas, place the capsicums under a hot oven grill on a bare baking tray, skin-side up, and grill until the skins are charred and blistered, turning as needed.
- This is smoky, so turn the exhaust fan on first and have your ziplock bag (or a sealed container) ready on the bench.
Steam, peel, and rinse:
- Transfer the hot capsicums straight into a ziplock bag and seal it, then leave them to steam for about 10 minutes.
- Rub off most of the charred skin, then give the capsicums a quick rinse under cold running water to remove any stubborn black flakes and pat dry.
- Remove the seeds and pith, then chop into bite-sized pieces.
Cook and cool the fusilli:
- Bring at least 3 litres of well-salted water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.
- Add 250g dry fusilli pasta and cook at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick.
- Follow the packet timing, but start checking a minute or two early so it stays al dente.
- Drain through a colander, then rinse thoroughly under cold running water to remove residual starch and stop the pasta sticking as it cools.
- Refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble.
Prep the remaining ingredients:
- Cut 12 large cherry tomatoes in halves or quarters, depending on size.
- Thinly slice 100g semi sundried tomatoes.
- Roughly break up 80g walnuts.
- Halve 100g pitted green Sicilian olives.
- Drain and rinse 400g cannellini beans well.
- Cut 150g small white pickled onions into halves or thirds, then separate the layers into little onion “petals”.
- Rinse and dry 100g rocket leaves in a salad spinner or between paper towels.
Make the pesto dressing:
- In a small bowl, stir together 185ml mixed herb pesto, 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from 1 lemon), and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil until loosened and spoonable.
- The goal is a thick but viscous dressing that will coat and stick to the fusilli, integrating the pesto into the gaps in the pasta rather than sliding off and pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Assemble the salad:
- Add the pesto dressing to the cold fusilli first and mix thoroughly, so the pasta is evenly coated before anything else goes in.
- If you like, soften the rocket by spritzing or drizzling over a drop or two of extra virgin olive oil and mixing it through, then add the rocket to the dressed pasta.
- Add about half of the capsicum, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, olives, cannellini beans, pickled onion petals, and semi sundried tomatoes and mix through gently.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, then tuck the remaining ingredients through the top so it looks generous and intentional.
Serve:
- This is best assembled just before serving so the pesto stays bright, but in my experience the colour holds well for about 4–6 hours before it deepens to a darker green.
- Serve at room temperature or cool.
