Summer Pasta Salad
July 6, 2008
During the week nights when I am limited for time I like recipes that can be a one dish meal. This is absolutely it with lot’s of fresh ingredients and a great way to use your left over (roasted) chicken. For the dressing I use light mayo which is just fine. This is also great for a potluck, look for the tri-colored orecchiette pasta to wow your friend’s with not only a very scrumptious dish but your presentation as well. My source for this recipe is the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper in 2007. Please enjoy!
For more recipes using orecchiette pasta click here.
Dressing
- ¾ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 6 tbsp mayonnaise
- ¼ to ½ tsp chopped garlic
- ½ tbsp chopped shallot
- ¼ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp fresh thyme
- ½ cup packed basil leaves
- 1 ½ tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp corncob scrapings, or to taste
Salad
- 1 pound orecchiette
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 firm, ripe avocado
- 3 to 4 ears, sweet corn blanched until crisp tender
- 2 ounces romaine, baby spinach or arugula
- 1 pint small tri-colored cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 to 3 tbsp finely chopped red onion
- 12 ounces cooked chicken, cut into medium dice
For the dressing
Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, shallot, salt and thyme in a blender; blend until smooth, adding the basil and parsley toward the end. Leave some tiny green flecks of herb for visual appeal. Taste and blend in some of the scrapings from the corncob if needed, to balance the yogurt’s acidity and greenness of the herbs. The dressing can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.
For the salad
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and cool with cold water. Toss with the olive oil to prevent sticking.
Pit and peel the avocado, then cut into cubes or slices. Cut the corn kernels off the cob. Slice greens into ¼ inch shreds. Mix the pasta with enough dressing to thickly coat. Season to taste
Garnish with the avocado, corn, greens, tomatoes, onion and chicken. Alternately, toss all the ingredients together. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Serves: 4 to 6
Total time: 1 hour
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