My menus frequently deal with potatoes, rice and pasta because they economic, filling choices. There are many ways to prepare pasta. There my hardly-homemade spagetti and meatballs which involves my heating up some Mama Rosa's meatballs with sauteed onions, garlic, basil and Ragu. There is my genuinely homemade macaroni and cheese, which I have posted previously. Today I am posting on a popular picnic dish which I think also makes a great lunch or side dish at dinner; pasta salad.
Ingredients:
Cooked, strained, cooled-off pasta noodles (Ziti, rottelle, farfalle...you pick.)
(I do not like to rinse them in cold water after cooking them.)
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh tomatoes (both chopped to bite sizes and in slices)
Fresh basil leaves
(If you have chopped basil, than that is great too)
Chopped celery
Chopped fresh carrots
Sliced cucumbers
Plenty of Pepperjack cheese, cut into cubes
Chopped green peppers (because they are cheaper than red and orange and yellow, but if you can manage it, get those too. You can't go wrong with more color, flavor and crunch.)
Stir in the spices and vegetables before you add the olive oil. That way you won't use more than you need to because the moisture from the vegetables will already make the noodles "salady". Add the cubes of cheese only once the pasta is cool, so they don't melt. Cover the top of the pasta salad with slices of tomato, cucumber and basil leaves for presentation. This is also a good option for Advent, Lent, Fridays and other vegetarian occasions.
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