Nutty Pasta Salad
November 7th, 2006
On Sunday evening, I whipped up this lite pasta dish for my hubby’s Monday lunch. We both ate some right away, he took some in his lunchbox, and after I had some for lunch, it was gone.
Pat’s been feeling a little over-fed, I think he’s worried that I am fattening him up, just as you would a hog or turkey at this time of year. So, he’s been asking for lighter foods in his lunchbox and at dinner time, too. I’ve been having a lapse in the healthy-cooking department and am having a hard time coming up with those light-food ideas.
If you’re not interested in the recipe, at least read this quick tip: When making pasta for salad, rinse with cold water as soon as it’s done cooking. Keep rinsing with cold water until it is completely cool. This will prevent mushy, gummy pasta that sticks together.
However, I saw a recipe for a cold linguine salad, and it gave me an idea. The recipe below is what I came up with. Make your own adjustments to suit your tastes. I can see tossing in some cherry tomatoes, water chestnuts, celery, cilantro, avocado, etc.
Here’s what I made:
Nutty Pasta Salad
8 oz. mini penne pasta
3 T. olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 c. chopped pecans
3 T. diced roasted red pepper
1 c. fresh chopped spinach
salt and pepper
a splash (1 T.) light vinegar, such as rice vinegar
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, rinse thoroughly with cold water and set aside.
In a skillet, heat the oil and then add the pecans. Toast them — keeping a close eye on them, until they begin to brown. Set these aside to cool.
Prepare the red pepper and spinach or whatever fresh vegetables you choose to add. By the time you are done with that, the nuts will be cool enough to add to the pasta. Toss everything together.
The nuts add a delightfully crunchy texture to this salad, and the spinach is a healthy addition. I have a feeling this is one of those recipes that will become a classic favorite in this house.
Entry Filed under: Recipes, Side Dishes, salads
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