Wimpole Hall and Asparagus Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad

On the Saturday of the Bank Holiday Weekend I met a friend and we went to Wimpole Hall and Home Farm in Cambridgeshire. We had a lovely wander round the house in the morning and then sat and had a picnic in the grounds for lunch. The day was beautiful, lovely and sunny and just a little windy but warm enough to sit outside. I made a couple of salads to accompany the quiche that my friend had made. The first of those was this easily whipped up pasta salad and I mean easy as I made it when I got home at about 10pm the night before! But it was super tasty and a really good compliment to the quiche. The spinach came from my garden and the asparagus from Walthamstow Market was English so tasted fantastic, it also used up odds and ends from my cupboard and fridge, much better than letting things go to waste.

In the afternoon we walked down to the walled garden and Home Farm. The garden was in that in between stage getting ready for growing vegetables but not yet big enough to be impressive! Home Farm was lovely though and we got to see baby chickens and geese and also baby lambs, all incredibly cute! It was a lovely day out and I am so glad that the weather held.

Asparagus Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad
(Serves 2 as a side dish)

70g dried macaroni
4-6 stalks of asparagus, cut into inch chunks
50g spinach
3 sundried tomatoes, sliced
1 heaped tsp pesto

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the macaroni according to packet instructions adding the asparagus for the last 2-3 mins. Drain and run under the cold tap.

Pour a kettle of boiling water over the spinach to wilt it and then run under the cold tap. When cold squeeze out as much of the water as you can.

Combine the macaroni, asparagus, spinach and sundried tomatoes in a bowl. Stir in the pesto and mix thoroughly. Serve.