Caprese Pasta Salad Recipe

Even with fall upon us, I wanted to share this caprese pasta salad recipe.  I made this for a BBQ gathering at my friend’s house over the summer.  This salad was a great accompaniment to the amazing spread of grilled chicken, steak tips and veggies for dinner.  It is a simple, yet elegant salad that is full of fresh flavors. 

The combination of tomato, mozzarella and basil is a classic combination.  So adding in some pasta, one of my favorite carbs, was a no brainer.  The pasta absorbs the sweet balsamic dressing while the salty mozzarella seasons the juicy tomato.  Also, make sure you use fresh basil in this dish to pull all of the flavors together. 

Caprese Pasta Salad Recipe

Serves 8 -10 (as a side dish)

1 lb. pasta (any shape, I used wheat)

5 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced

15 large basil leaves, chopped

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed

Salt

Pepper

3-4 tablespoons balsamic dressing

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil.  Once at a rolling boil, add in pasta and cook for 7-9 minutes, or until al dente.  Strain the pasta and set aside to cool down to room temperature. {If you are in a rush, you can run the pasta under cold water to help the cooling process}

While the pasta is cooking, in a small bowl mix the tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, salt and pepper to taste. 

In a large serving bowl, add the pasta, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.  Toss together with the balsamic dressing.  The dressing amount is completely up to you and your preference.  If this salad is made in advance, have additional dressing on hand as the pasta will absorb the dressing over time.   

Edamame Salad Recipe

Here is another salad for you!  I hope you tried the panzanella salad at one of your latest BBQ’s.  I made it again for our 4^th of July Celebration! It went perfectly alongside our 16 lobsters while we ate alfresco in my parents back patio by the pool. 

On to the feature of today, Edamame Salad!  I am a huge edamame fan! They are one of my favorite snacks to enjoy while in the pods sprinkled with a little salt.  It is just fun food to eat.  My husband and I ate bowls full of salted edamame pods while relaxing at a poolside bar in Maui on our honeymoon. 

Edamame is perfect as a snack, but they also go well as a side dish warm or in a salad.  This salad allows the simplicity of the edamame bean to shine through while accompanied pecorino cheese, cannellini beans and garlic!  The snap of the edamame beans goes perfectly with the soft, smooth cannellini beans.  With only 8 ingredients, this salad is so simple to put together.  My sister and I love this salad, so I always make a little extra for leftovers. 

Edamame Salad Recipe

Adapted by Giada De Laurentiis

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped dried basil

4 cups (18 ounces) shelled edamame beans

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

5 ounces pecorino, cut into 1/4 -inch chunks

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

In a small, nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, but not brown, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil and set aside.

If your edamame beans are frozen, you will need to cook them before assembling the salad.  Boil 4 quarts of water seasoned with 1/4  teaspoon of salt.  Cook for 5 minutes until thawed through.  Pour into a strainer and run cold water over to increase the cooling time. 

Once the edamame beans are cooled, combine them with cannellini beans, cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a serving bowl. Add the garlic mixture and toss well until all the ingredients are coated.

Tips:

1)      There is no exact science to this salad.  If you want to add more pecorino cheese, you are more than welcome too! I am sure I usually use more than 5 ounces.

2)      The original recipe calls for less edamame beans, but I wanted to showcase them in the salad.

3)      Feel free to try different types of herbs.  If you want to try oregano, rosemary, thyme, go for it!

4)      As I mentioned above, this salad is great leftover! So if you have time, make it a day in advance for a party.  The flavors will meld together nicely.

5)      I buy my shelled edamame at Trader Joes in the frozen food aisle.  For this salad I use two bags.

Panzanella Salad Recipe

With summer officially here, that means lots of BBQ’s with family and friends!  This is a time to allow the fresh summer flavors to shine through and complement BBQ favorites.  I love to bring different salads to parties that everyone can try.  Panzanella salad is a rustic Italian salad made with day old bread and fresh produce.  It is a match made in heaven!

This salad is simplistic and purely shows off the amazing produce of the summer.  Plus, the homemade bread croutons soak up the tangy dressing, while still adding a lot of crunch.  The croutons are predominant in this salad, and not your typical salad with just a few on top.  If you bring this to your 4^th of July festivities, all of the guests will love this salad. 

Panzanella Salad Salad

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Serves 12

For the Salad:

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 small French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick

2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons capers, drained

For the Vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup good olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

Tips:

1)   If you are going to bring this to a party and make the salad ahead of time, I would suggest bringing the croutons in a separate container.  Then just add them to the salad with dressing when ready to serve.  This will allow the croutons to maintain their  crunchy perfection.   

2)  Feel free to add some of your favorite produce items to this salad.
3)  I only had red peppers the day I made this salad, but to make this salad even more
      colorfuly, you can use one yellow and one orange pepper. 
4)  The original recipe called for Champagne vinegar.  I didn't have any in the house, so I     used red wine vinegar and it worked out perfectly. 

Quinoa Salad Recipe

This quinoa salad was created a few months back when Bill and I competed in our “Chopped Challenge.”   Quinoa was one of Bill’s secret ingredients and he came up with this excellent side dish that we have made a staple in our recipe box.  Quinoa is an excellent source of protein, essential amino acids, fiber, and iron. 

This quinoa salad has crunchy almonds, sweet dried cranberries and tender asparagus accented by sesame oil.  This flavor combination that Bill came up with goes wonderful as a side dish with fish, chicken or beef.  You could also have it by itself for lunch or a snack.  We have only had this salad warm, but I will definitely serve it cold this summer at a BBQ.

Quinoa Salad Recipe

1/2 cup whole almonds

1 cup quinoa
2 cup chicken stock
1cup chopped asparagus, 1/2 inch size pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon sesame oil

In a small pan, toast the almonds.  Be sure to keep an eye on these as they can burn quickly

In a small sauce pan, combine chicken stock and quinoa.  Bring the mixture to a boil, cover with a lid and turn down the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Once cooked, fluff the quinoa with a fork.

While the quinoa is cooking, steam chopped asparagus for 10-15 minutes until tender. 

In a large serving bowl, combine quinoa, toasted almonds, cranberries, asparagus and sesame oil.  Serve warm or cold and enjoy!

Tips:

1)      Quinoa doesn’t have much flavor, so we prefer to cook it in chicken stock.  If you want to keep this vegetarian, it would be excellent in vegetable stock.
2)      We have used green beans instead of asparagus for this recipe too!
3)      Serve this warm or cold.
4)      If you prefer, you can chop the almonds once they are toasted.

Tortellini Salad Recipe

I love summer BBQ's! How can you not love them, gathering with family and friends, eating lots of good food off of the grill, laughing, being outside and making memories.  This past weekend, my parents hosted a pool party at their house.  The weather was perfect, the pool was refreshing and there was lots of wiffle ball played.   Overall, it was a great day.   

I knew my father, a.k.a. the grill master, would be cooking up some great BBQ food on the grill, so I thought I would make a tortellini salad to accompany his food.  This salad is so easy to put together and only has a few ingredients {4 to be exact}.  You could add lots of other summer veggies to this recipe and make it your own, so please think of this as a starting point.

Tortellini Salad Recipe

2 bags of frozen tortellini
1/2 English cucumber, cut into bit size pieces
4 ounces of pepperoni, cut into quarters
1 1/2 cups of ranch dressing

Cook the tortellini according to the package.  Drain and run cold water over to help the cooling process. 

In a large bowl, mix your cooled tortellini, cucumber, pepperoni and ranch dressing.  Depending on how much dressing the pasta absorbs, you might want to add more upon serving.  Use your own judgment and preference when adding the dressing.

Tips:
1)      This is definitely a party sized portion.  You can make this with only one bag of tortellini and then can cut back on the cucumber, pepperoni and dressing. 

2)      If you don’t have English cucumber, then use a regular one.  Just make sure to peel it and remove the seeds during preparation.

3)      Feel free to add any of your favorite vegetables; tomato, pepper, snap peas, etc.