If there is one this I love on a hot summer’s day its cool pasta salad. In fact I love a good pasta salad basically anytime of year and seeing as it’s basically summer all year round here in Southern California why not even enjoy a good pasta salad in the dead of winter? We must make 100’s of different types of pasta salad at work each one better then the last till you go back and try one of the old one’s and that becomes the new favorite all over again! But people around here most love them because they keep requesting them all the time, which is a good thing no doubt, as for me well I’m just glad they keep coming back for more! At any rate pasta salads are super simple to make are great way to use up what you have lurking around the fridge. So no not all the ingredients have to be super fresh all organic products from the specialty store on the other side of town to make a good decent salad! I mean sure you could go through all the trouble and make a great salad no doubt but for today it’s about working with what’s available here at home. For the record, I remember when I was a teenager around 17 or so the father of a girl I knew made a great pasta salad with left over pasta, marinated artichokes, canned olives, along with what ever other fresh, frozen or canned vegetables he had on hand and prepared store bought Italian dressing and it was great! That’s sort of the bases for this pasta salad although I'm using homemade roasted pepper vinaigrette I made the other day, I am also adding some left over diced prosciutto, and some marinated mozzarella balls to my salad, but like I said from the beginning this is a great way use up whatever leftovers and whatever else you’ve got on hand you feel like tossing into the salad bowl. As for the dressing I like a homemade verses store bought myself but either one is ok for this salad, as for the flavor most vinaigrettes will do nicely such as roasted pepper or tomato vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette is also nice, as is Italian or just plain old oil and vinegar.
Shopping List
Pasta, I’m using a try color rotini (cork screw)
Tomatoes
Olives, I’m just using simple California
Artichoke hearts, I’m using marinated
Roasted bell peppers
Mushrooms, I’m using canned but fresh are of course fine
Prosciutto
Salami or pepperoni, I’m using a mini pepperoni
Salad dressing, I’m using roasted bell pepper vinaigrette
My Mad Method
Boil pasta in salted water, drain well, and toss with extra virgin olive oil
Dice some prosciutto, for best results chill it well so you don’t have to compete with the fat
Slice some salami or pepperoni thinly
Drain a jar of marinated mini mozzarella balls
Drain a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts
Slice store bought or homemade roasted peppers into thin strips
Drain a medium sized can of black olives
Drain a small can of mushrooms
Slice one small basket of cherry tomatoes in half length wise
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a generous amount or salad dressing
Plate up in a serving bowl garnish as desired
Ready to serve!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment