Summer pasta salad recipes

I’m going to lose a few of you with this recipe. There seems to be no middle ground about bleu cheese. People either love it or hate it. As for me, it is hands down my favorite cheese of all.

The warm pasta and vinegar will help wilt the baby spinach. And you don’t have to use Gorgonzola. Use whatever bleu cheese you like best. To make it even easier you could use your favorite Italian salad dressing, but this one is good.

Spinach Gorgonzola Pasta Salad

1 pound bow tie pasta

12 ounces baby spinach

1/2 pound Gorgonzola crumbled

For the Italian dressing

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley minced

2 tsp Italian oregano

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional

2 cloves garlic, minced into a paste

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta in salted water (2 tablespoons salt per gallon of water) until al dente, then drain and rinse under cold water until just warm. Drain well.

In a large bowl, mix together the pasta, spinach, Gorgonzola, and half of the dressing. If you need more dressing, add a bit at a time to get the consistency just right. The remaining dressing can be served on the side or saved in the fridge for a green salad during the week.

The spinach Gorgonzola pasta salad's flavor will taste much better if chilled for at least an hour before serving.

—kwc—

And let’s keep going with the pasta salad since it’s almost too hot to eat anything else. This one is much more mainstream. A good Italian one with cured meats. Hold some of the dressing back in case you need more after refrigerating.

I would substitute Kalamata olives for the black olives which I find fairly tasteless, but that’s just me. And I’d add a lot more of them because I love olives.

Italian Pasta Salad

12 ounces spiral tricolor pasta

2 cups seeded and chopped bell peppers, any color, or about 10 chopped sweet mini peppers

8 oz fresh mozzarella, either mozzarella pearls or a block of fresh mozzarella, cubed

6 oz hard salami, such as Genoa, Felino or sopresata, cut into bite-size pieces, you can also use pepperoni or ham

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1/3 cup finely-chopped red onion

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, preferably freshly grated

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

For the Italian dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes, optional

Cook the pasta according to the package directions in salted water. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Transfer the pasta to a large rimming baking sheet to cool for 15 minutes.

To make the dressing, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, oregano. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Transfer the cooled pasta to a large bowl and add the bell peppers, mozzarella, salami, tomatoes, black olives, red onion, Parmesan, parsley.

Add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the dressing and whisk to combine. Add the dressing to the pasta mixture and toss to coat. If desired, add more pasta cooking water to the salad. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 2 days).