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<\/p>\n Read in app<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n This story is available exclusively to Business Insider Spring is in the air, and Meghan Markle<\/a> is back on our TV, which can only mean one thing.<\/p>\n It’s time for a spring garden pasta salad \u00e0 la the Duchess of Sussex<\/a>.<\/p>\n After reviewing Meghan’s new line of As Ever products<\/a> and spending a weekend trying hosting tips from her Netflix show, I knew I also had to try some of Meghan’s recipes<\/a>.<\/p>\n I was a huge fan of her Chantilly Lili dessert, a twist on banana pudding that Meghan named after her daughter, Princess Lilibet<\/a>. Would the spring garden pasta salad be as big of a success?<\/p>\n Let’s find out.<\/p>\n Meghan Markle’s spring garden pasta salad appears on her Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan.”<\/p>\n Meghan Markle on her new Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan.”<\/p>\n Jake Rosenberg \/ Netflix<\/p>\n In the first season of her new show, Meghan demonstrates two different pasta dishes. My colleague Erin McDowell tried her one-pot pasta<\/a>, a quick and easy dish that only requires a skillet.<\/p>\n The recipe for the spring garden pasta salad, which also appears in The New York Times<\/a>, has far more ingredients and steps. According to the Times, the dish was inspired by Meghan’s kitchen garden in Montecito \u2014 her star-studded California neighborhood<\/a> \u2014 and the duchess’ “fondness for meals filled with vegetables.”<\/p>\n Meghan’s spring garden pasta salad is packed with seven different vegetables.<\/p>\n Meghan’s spring garden pasta salad is packed with different veggies.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n To make the pasta salad at home, you’ll need:<\/p>\n Meghan notes that frozen peas work well for this dish and don’t need to be thawed beforehand.<\/p>\n If you opt for fresh peas instead, boil them in salted water for about one to two minutes until they turn “bright green and crisp tender,” according to the recipe.<\/p>\n Then, drain the peas, rinse them under cold water, and drain again before adding them to the skillet.<\/p>\n Before I began cooking, I prepped all my veggies \u2014 a step that took far longer than expected.<\/p>\n The chopped shallots and zucchini.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n The recipe states that prep time for the spring garden pasta salad will take 20 minutes, but it took me at least half an hour to chop, slice, and dice everything.<\/p>\n I should note that I’m not the quickest with a knife and was already pretty tired from a day full of trying Meghan’s hosting projects, so I wasn’t exactly working at full speed.<\/p>\n If you’re also a bit of a novice, make sure to budget enough time before dinner for prep.<\/p>\n I didn’t start boiling the water for my pasta until I finished chopping the vegetables \u2014 big mistake.<\/p>\n Boiling water for the rigatoni pasta.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n I forgot that it can take quite a bit of time to bring a large pot of water to a boil, so I wasted precious time by not putting it on the stove right away as I did my prep work. Don’t make my same mistake!<\/p>\n And, as always with pasta, make sure to generously salt the water.<\/p>\n As I waited for the water to boil, I placed a large skillet over medium heat and added olive oil.<\/p>\n Make sure to cover the pan with olive oil.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n The recipe says you should add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.<\/p>\n I let the olive oil warm up in the pan, then added the shallots and garlic.<\/p>\n Adding shallots and garlic to the pan.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n Meghan says you should season the shallots and garlic with salt and cook them until they just start to soften, making sure to stir often.<\/p>\n This should take about one to two minutes.<\/p>\n Then, I threw in the zucchini, snap peas, frozen green peas, and kale stems.<\/p>\n I cooked all the veggies together for about three minutes.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n Meghan says you should salt everything again and cook until the veggies are “crisp-tender,” which should take two to three minutes.<\/p>\n My water was finally boiling!<\/p>\n I took my skillet off the heat as I cooked the rigatoni.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n I took my skillet off the heat and threw in the box of rigatoni to my boiling pot of salted water, cooking the pasta until it was al dente.<\/p>\n I made sure to save some pasta water before draining the rigatoni.<\/p>\n I saved some of the pasta water in a glass measuring cup.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n The recipe recommends saving half a cup of pasta water.<\/p>\n I transferred my noodles to a large bowl and drizzled olive oil on top, making sure to coat the pasta lightly.<\/p>\n I drizzled the drained rigatoni with olive oil before adding some reserved pasta water.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n Per Meghan’s recommendation, I also added a splash of pasta water since my noodles seemed a little dry.<\/p>\n It was time to mix everything together.<\/p>\n Mixing the veggies with the pasta.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n I added all the cooked veggies from the skillet to the big bowl, then added the halved cherry tomatoes.<\/p>\n I zested the entire lemon over my pasta, then squeezed juice from one of its halves.<\/p>\n Squeezing fresh lemon juice into the pasta.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n I stirred everything together to coat the rigatoni noodles evenly. After tasting my pasta, I added a bit more olive oil and pasta water.<\/p>\n Last but not least was the cheese.<\/p>\n Adding cheese to the pasta.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n I love Parmesan and Manchego cheese, so I opted to use both for this recipe. I grated a generous amount of each over the pasta, which I topped with lots of freshly ground black pepper.<\/p>\n This is also the step where you can scatter the mint on top \u2014 although I must admit I forgot!<\/p>\n Meghan’s pasta required far more time than I expected, but it was a huge hit at my friend’s barbecue.<\/p>\n Meghan’s spring garden pasta salad.<\/p>\n Anneta Konstantinides\/Business Insider<\/p>\n After nearly 10 hours of trying Meghan’s various projects, I was pretty exhausted when I finished making this dish. And, full transparency, that tiredness immediately made me not want to like this pasta.<\/p>\n But when I arrived at my friend’s barbecue, I was surprised by how much everyone loved this dish. The pasta salad was packed with bright flavors from all the veggies, perfectly captured in each bite of the chewy rigatoni.<\/p>\n It tasted light and fresh, pairing well with our chicken and steak kebabs. I especially loved the pasta when I added some chili crisp on top the following day. The extra heat, melding with the salty cheeses, added more depth and elevated the overall flavor.<\/p>\n
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