Most of what I know about cooking, I learned from my mother. I'm not sure how she knows what ingredients combine to make a great pasta salad - but she certainly has a knack for it! The following recipe is a spin off of a non-pasta salad that she made a few years ago. It's quite healthy & delicious!
When you think of summer cooking, I'm sure one of the biggest themes that come to mind is Barbecue. Grilled veggies, hot off the grill, comprise my favorite summer side items. One favorite in particular is asparagus. The tomato is also one of my favorite summer sides - I guess that's a fruit though :).
For a friend's barbecue yesterday I created a pasta salad that combined my favorites listed above with the idea of a pasta salad. Because it's bathing suit season, I decided to steer clear of the creamy pasta salad variety. Try to combine these flavors in your head: grape tomatoes, asparagus, balsamic vinaigrette and blue cheese. Tasty, right? Add in some bow tie pasta of your liking and you have a great side dish for any summer barbecue. Below is the recipe in full.
Vinaigrette Based Pasta Salad
1 box Bow Tie Pasta (I prefer Barilla as it is multi-grain & a healthier choice)
1 small container Grape Tomatoes
1 large bunch Asparagus
Crumbled Blue Cheese (to taste)
Newman's Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (to taste)
1 box Bow Tie Pasta (I prefer Barilla as it is multi-grain & a healthier choice)
1 small container Grape Tomatoes
1 large bunch Asparagus
Crumbled Blue Cheese (to taste)
Newman's Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (to taste)
Bring a pot of water to boil. Break off the ends of your asparagus spears & throw away. Chop the usable part of your spears into 1.5 - 2 inch pieces.
Blanch your asparagus pieces. To do this, place into boiling water & cook for approximately 5 minutes. Immediately strain & allow to cool.
Cook your pasta as described on the box. Strain & cool about 5 minutes.
Combine your pasta & asparagus. Cut grape tomatoes in half & mix into the pasta/asparagus mixture.
Add blue cheese & dressing to taste. I added about 3 - 3.5 ounces of crumbled blue cheese and 7 TBSP of dressing to my salad.
Refrigerate for 2-3 hours (until everything is nice and cool). Stir before serving to make sure the dressing is covering all of your ingredients.
Enjoy!
Blanch your asparagus pieces. To do this, place into boiling water & cook for approximately 5 minutes. Immediately strain & allow to cool.
Cook your pasta as described on the box. Strain & cool about 5 minutes.
Combine your pasta & asparagus. Cut grape tomatoes in half & mix into the pasta/asparagus mixture.
Add blue cheese & dressing to taste. I added about 3 - 3.5 ounces of crumbled blue cheese and 7 TBSP of dressing to my salad.
Refrigerate for 2-3 hours (until everything is nice and cool). Stir before serving to make sure the dressing is covering all of your ingredients.
Enjoy!
3 Comments:
Give me a bowl and a fork. This looks fabulous!
I really like this, it looks so good and light, I love the veggies in it!
Just a minor tip: after removing the veggies from the simmering water, immediately submerge in ice water to stop the cooking and keep the color.
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