Friday 4 August 2017

Simple Pasta Salad

Although we are in the last month of Winter, the days here have been reminiscent of Spring.  Daytime temperatures have been in the low to mid 20Cs and, while the mornings have still had some chill to them, the afternoons have been quite balmy. Perhaps this is the uniquely Australian season that Dr. Tim Entwisle calls "Springer". Perfect for such warmer weather, and a move away from the heavier and more hearty foods of Winter, are salads like this one:

A simple homemade salad.

Simple Pasta Salad

1 packet of "bow-tie" pasta (or other suitable pasta such as fusilli)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion
4 rashers bacon
1 small red capsicum
1 medium zucchini
1/3 cup frozen peas

Dressing:
4 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon seeded mustard
1 -2 teaspoons honey

1.  Cook pasta according to packet directions.  Drain well and place in a large salad bowl.

2.  Peel and chop onion finely. Remove rind from bacon and cut into cubes. Wash and 
     remove seeds from capsicum. Chop capsicum and zucchini into small pieces.

3.  Heat olive oil in heavy-base frying pan and gently fry onion and bacon until onion has
     softened and the bacon has browned slightly.

4.  Add capsicum and fry gently until this begins to soften. 

5.  Add zucchini and frozen peas. Fry gently until peas have defrosted.

6.  Remove from heat and add fried vegies and bacon to cooked pasta. Combine well & chill.

7.  Whisk together ingredients for dressing and have at the ready to pour over this salad 
     just before serving.

This salad can be "jazzed up" with some toasted pine nuts or some crumbled feta. It's perfect for a weekend lunch, to pack for a picnic or to take to a barbecue. Perhaps it will fit in with your weekend plans.

Have a lovely weekend.
Meg






20 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious.

    Although here, there would have to be one for my husband, and one for needs-to-live-Gluten-Free me. :-)

    We do it with spaghetti though. It can be done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it would work with a gluten free pasta, Luna. I sometimes use a spelt pasta for this and sometimes a quinoa and rice pasta. Depends what's in my pantry. Meg:)

      Delete
  2. Here in England it's high Summer, but all it does is rain and high winds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, dear. That doesn't sound like Summery weather, Marlene. Our Summers here can be scorching hot and we sometimes get wild storms. Hope it fines up for you soon. Meg:)

      Delete
  3. We've been having exactly the same weather here, you wouldn't know it's Winter, it feels like Spring already. Funnily enough I've just started to crave that shift from Winter food to something lighter, we had pasta salad, potato salad and rice salad (unfortunately not homemade) with chicken schnitzel (homemade) the other night for tea, and it was lovely! Change is definitely in the air :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I make a lot of salads here, Cheryl. Fresh and light salads in the hotter months and warm salads with lots of roasted veg when it's colder. They are easy to pack into lunches the next day too. Definitely feeling like Spring here, though there is a cool wind blowing here today. Meg:)

      Delete
  4. We have had a warm winter here too, Meg. Most unusual. I hate to think what summer will be like :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Last Summer was so hot, Chel! I dread that kind of weather simply because it keeps me inside far more than what I like to be. Meg:)

      Delete
  5. That looks lovely....I love making rice salad in summer and my daughter devours it. She is right into coleslaw at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rice salad is lovely! I have a recipe for a brown rice salad with spiced carrots that I haven't made for a while come to think of it. Must dig that recipe out! Meg:)

      Delete
  6. Please send some of that warmth our way. We are very cold here. I remember making a pasta salad for the kids a few years ago and they said 'mmmm so much better than those deli ones Mum.' Phew it passed.
    Pasta/rice salad are also so handy for when kids get peckish. Nutritious and filling.
    Kylie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is a simple homemade alternative to a deli salad, Kylie. Perhaps your kids will like it. Meg:)

      Delete
  7. Oh my, does this ever look good. We eat more cold meals in summer and so I've been looking at pasta salads. The bacon in this one would make my husband happy! I need to look at some simple homemade salad dressings too. We're kinda stuck on store-bought ranch dressing because we love it, but I need to venture out and try some new ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The dressing for this salad is quite simple, Leigh. Just mix it up and adjust the honey to taste. Meg:)

      Delete
  8. This looks lovely Meg, and I'll give it a whirl during this week. It's freezing cold, wet, windy and stormy here in SA, but we still love having a salad some days with lots of lettuce growing right now in our garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stay warm down there, Sally. Fine and sunny here today, a light breeze too. Hope you like the pasta salad. Meg:)

      Delete
  9. nice article great post comment information thanks for sharing.
    ผลบอล

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you found the recipe useful, it's a tasty salad to make. Meg:)

      Delete
  10. oh yum, thanks for this recipe! looks delish (as does your chocolate slice below). XX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are both simple and delicious, Melissa. My kind of food! Meg:)

      Delete