THE BEST PASTA SALAD

Spring has sprung, and even though I enjoy comfort food, I thought it might be a good idea to create a few seasonal recipes. At first, I thought of doing this as a salad with iceberg or romaine lettuce (which you can do by the way), I decided to go the pasta route. Now that we are sheltering-in-place, I felt that the pasta will hold up to the dressing for a few days, unlike the lettuce. I just so happened to have some of my favorite pasta from Delallo hanging out in my pantry. I like using the orecchiette, as the “ears” hold in the ingredients and dressing. You can use any pasta in your pantry to create the best pasta salad.

You can serve as a side dish, or as a meal with grilled chicken. I even made my own homemade dressing. I used some of my favorite “antipasto” ingredients…feel free to add some of your favorites!

Cook your pasta to al dente. Do NOT forget to salt your water. Drain (do not rinse), and allow to cool. While the pasta is cooking, prep the other ingredients.

Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a jar or bowl and mix well. I used an Italian Herb seasoning blend from Delallo…click here to view.

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Once the pasta has cooled, place in a large bowl. Mix with a tablespoon or so of the dressing. Add in the prepped ingredients, along with the dressing. Gently toss to coat. If you need more dressing, just mix up a bit more…it will last in the fridge up to a week.

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Garnish with a touch more crushed red pepper and fresh basil. Serve as a side dish, or as a meal. This will be one of the best pasta salads you ever made. ENJOY!!!

Love side dish salads? Check out my potato salad…perfect with grilled hot dogs, burgers, and even fried chicken!

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