Warm Herbal Pasta Shell Salad

Warm herbal pasta shell salad with avocado and green beans beside Full Feast Herbal Sauce and Sauce Créole jars

A Warm Bowl for Warm Days

Cold pasta salads can taste like an afterthought. Warm ones are a different story — the heat opens up the herbs, the dressing clings instead of sliding off, and the avocado turns almost creamy against the shells.

This one is Mediterranean in shape and Caribbean at heart. The dressing is built on Full Feast Herbal Sauce, sharpened with lemon and Dijon, rounded with a little honey — and if you want extra tang, a half spoon of Sauce Créole takes it somewhere the Mediterranean has never been.

Recipe at a glance

  • Cuisine: Mediterranean × French Caribbean fusion
  • Prep: 10 minutes • Cook: 15 minutes
  • Serves: 4
  • Featured sauce: Full Feast Fresh Herbal Sauce
  • Heat level: No heat — fresh and herby
  • Diet: Vegetarian as written (not gluten free or vegan)

What you’ll need

For the salad:

  • 175 g pasta shells
  • 150 g fine green beans, halved
  • 4 spring onions, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 125 g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 ripe avocado, diced
  • Fresh basil leaves, to finish
  • Black pepper
  • Optional: grilled chicken or prawns

For the Full Feast Herbal dressing:

  • 4 tbsp Full Feast Herbal Sauce
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • ½ tbsp Full Feast Sauce Créole (optional, for extra tang)
  • Black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Make the dressing. Whisk together the Herbal Sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey and Sauce Créole (if using) until smooth.
  2. Cook the pasta. Boil the pasta shells until al dente. In the final 2 minutes, add the green beans to the same pot. Drain well.
  3. Build the salad. While the pasta is still warm, toss through the spring onions, green pepper, cherry tomatoes and avocado.
  4. Finish. Pour over the dressing and toss gently to coat, keeping the avocado in chunky pieces. Top with basil and a crack of black pepper. Serve warm.

Chef’s notes

This bowl is about contrast: creamy avocado, sweet tomato, crisp green beans, and a fresh herbal punch — the Herbal Sauce is the hero here.

Chef’s tweak: for a signature Full Feast menu version, add grilled chicken strips or king prawns, shaved Parmesan, and toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch.

Allergen note: contains gluten (pasta, and Sauce Créole via barley vinegar) and mustard (Herbal Sauce and Dijon). Not suitable for gluten-free or vegan diets as written.

Final word from me

Dress it while it’s warm — that is the whole trick. The pasta drinks in the herbs, and by the time it reaches the table it tastes like it has been marinating all afternoon.

JP