Summer Pasta Vegetable Salad

Summer Pasta Vegetable Salad - a tasty mix of Pasta and vegetables dressed in a wonderful herb vinaigrette dressing. I love 'lightening up' a pasta salad with vegetables and combining this with my favorite herb dressing.

 1 lb Pasta (screws, bow tie, shells etc.) cooked in salted water
1 Cup Broccoli tops cut into small pieces
1 Cup Cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, cut into chunks
1 Cup Mushroom sliced
1 Cup Carrot Shredded
1 Can Garbanzo Beans, drained
1/2 cup Onion rough chopped
1/2 Cup Sliced Radishes

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta to the water until cooked. Drain the pasta and run cold water over it to stop the cooking process. While the pasta is cooking, make good use of your time by cutting up the vegetables.
Mix the cold pasta and vegetables, I like to put about 1/4 cup dressing on the salad to keep the pasta from sticking together, then add the remainder of the dressing to the salad just before serving and toss.

Dressing
This dressing is equally at home on a green salad as it is on a pasta salad. It can be quickly made and used immediately, but comes to full flavor if left to sit overnight. It can also be used as a marinade for Chicken, Beef, Pork, and Sea Food.

3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp dried Sweet Basil

1 tsp dried Dill Weed

1 tsp water

1 tsp Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Honey

1/2 tsp ground Cayenne Pepper

1 large or 4 small cloves of Garlic, pressed

Combine all ingredients, shake well before using.

For Taste Sake
 The Onions can be Red, Green, Shallot
Additional items to add:
   Olives (Green or Black)
   Tomatoes Grape, sweet 100's or sliced
   Beans Kidney, Cannellini, Butter
   Sweet Bell Peppers

Fred's Famous Pasta/ Macaroni Salad

Fred's Famous Pasta/ Macaroni  Salad

This Pasta Salad also called Macaroni Salad is a family favorite. We like to eat it while out in the boat, or Wine Tasting. This easy to make salad, is top notch, full of flavor, yet easy to make and will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

You can cut the ingredients in half or make a double or triple batch according to your needs.

1 Lb. Small Pasta Shells
2 Cans Chunk Lite Tuna - drained
3 -4 Table Spoons Minced Shallot
Mayonnaise
2 Cups Frozen Peas
Salt for seasoning the water

Bring 4quarts of water to a boil and salt the water heavily (water should taste like the Ocean's salt water)
Pour the pasta shells into the boiling water, stir immediately, then ever so often. As the pasta gets close done, taste it, frequently. When it has reached firm but not hard 'Al dente'  - add the frozen peas. When the water begins to boil again, turn off the heat, remove the pot from the stove and drain the pasta and peas in a colander. Rinse the pasta and peas with cold water to stop the pasta's cooking.
Add the cooled and drained pasta and peas into a bowl or reuse the pot you just cooked them in. Add the two cans of tuna (fluff it with a fork), shallot, and mayonnaise. Mix thouroughly.

The pasta will continue to absorb the mayonnaise. Many times I'll make the salad, the night before. So I'll cover the bowl or pot and put it in the refrigerator for the night. Just before serving or putting into a container for travel, add more mayonnaise, possibly a little extra depending on how long before the salad will be consumed.

For Taste Sake
Some people like a little mustard in their pasta salad - a little dry, yellow, or brown 1 teaspoon to a tablespoon for a little extra flavor, or some horseradish for a bit of a kick.

A sliced hard boiled egg on top for presentation or chopped and mixed in can add additional richness and flavor.

Experiment with different pastas, screws, bow ties, medium shells etc.

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Tabouli, Tabbouleh, Tabbouleh

Tabouli, Tabbouleh, Tabbouleh 

No matter how you spell it - it's one of my favorite summer salads.

Summer is the ideal time to make this salad with fresh ingredients, the Tomato, Cucumber, Onion, herbs, lemon juice and Olive Oil, mixed together just taste like summer freshness on your tongue! There are 'Boxed' versions of this salad but like many 'Boxed' versions of things it bears little resemblance to the Fresh version. It's my favorite side dish to BBQ or grilled chicken but goes with just about anything. This Middle Eastern salad is often referred to as 'Parsley Salad' - my version has the amount of parsley cut back and I've found many people prefer it to the heavy parsley version. Feel free to experiment to develop your own version.

2 Cups Wheat Bulgur (Cracked Wheat)
1 to 2 Cups Flat Leaf/Italian Parsley leaves - finely chopped Traditional versions add as much as 3 cups.
1/4 Cup Mint leaves finely chopped
3 Scallions or 1 large shallot minced
2 med - lg tomatoes cut into 1/2" cubes
1 lg Cucumber pealed, seeded, cut into 1/2" chunks
1/4 to 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
2 tsp salt
4 TBSP your best Extra Virgin Olive Oil (lesser oil can be substituted)
3-4 TBSP Lemon Juice

Place the 2 cups of Wheat Bulgur in a bowl and add 2 cups hot water and let stand 30 min. (this can be done a day or two ahead of time)

Add Soaked Bulgur and remaining ingredients to a bowl and mix well.

For Taste Sake

One of my favorite additions to this traditional dish is a can of garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed - many brands of canned Garbanzo Beans have salt added so you may want to taste your salad first before adding the additional salt. Grabanzo beans add texture and makes it a little more of a heavier substantial salad and will make it stretch a little further.

Another popular addition to Tabbouleh is chopped lettuce - lettuce adds another level of texture, makes your salad a bit lighter and fluffier and again can make it stretch a but further among your guests without having to make two batches.

Feta cheese is another good addition - remember to take into account that most feta cheese has salt in it.

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You can substitute cherry tomatoes for whole ones, keep in mind cherry tomatoes are typically less acidic and therefore sweeter than most varieties of larger tomatoes. I prefer the whole tomatoes, cubed, but the cherry tomatoes run a close second.

Caprese Salad

This is a very simple Italian salad – fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh tomato and fresh basil leaves, often seasoned with only salt and pepper. This is the classic that you often see fanned out on a plate, repeating slices of white mozzarella, red tomato, green leaf of basil. The Italian flag’s colors are Red, White and Green. Don’t lose sight of its simplicity – the creaminess of the mozzarella, the slight acid of the tomato and the spiciness of the basil is a classic that has stood the test of time – try it in all of its glory. Don’t be afraid to serve it in all of it’s simplicity.
Now if you know me I’m not one to leave things alone, so here are some variations I like to add. My favorite way of serving it is, as a slice of tomato as the base – I often try to get a large heirloom tomato. I believe heirloom tomatoes have such a variety of colors, sizes and flavors that commercially grown tomatoes can’t offer. I often like to add a thin slice of cucumber – either a standard green cucumber or my all time favorite is a lemon cucumber. Mozzarella cheese is simplicity, but I am finding variations – especially marinated in olive oil or flavored olive oil. Mozzarella can also be found in small cherry tomato sized balls. Topped off with, or hidden in between a layer – a fresh basil leaf. Sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper, I like to use coarse Kosher salt or even a Pink Salt or Gray Salt – which typically has less of a ‘salty’ taste and adds more a ‘mineral’ taste. Drizzle some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the top. Drizzle some Balsamic Vinegar over the top. Experiment with different balsamic vinegars, one of my favorites is Fig Balsamic Vinegar.
By making individual stacks, and serving them as stacks, your guests will find it easier to select a stack, cut and eat your gorgeous salad.

For Taste Sake – a slice of tomato, a leaf of basil, a small ball of mozzarella cut in half and two marinated mussels (recipe from an earlier post). Slice it in half, between the mozzarella and mussels and put the whole slice in your mouth – the flavors and textures, go on for some time!
Another variation would be to serve it as an appetizer. Take a bamboo skewer and cut it down to size, slide on cherry tomato, a small ball or cube of mozzarella, a leaf of basil, and maybe a marinated mussel. Serve them soaking in the herb dressing posted earlier, in a shallow dish.

Herb Salad Dressing

I ran across this simple and delicious herb salad dressing a long time ago. It’s one of my favorites. It's equally at home on a green salad as it is on a pasta salad. It can be quickly made and used immediately, but comes to full flavor if left to sit overnight. It can also be used as a marinade for Chicken, Beef, Pork, and Sea Food.

3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp dried Sweet Basil

1 tsp dried Dill Weed

1 tsp water

1 tsp Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Honey

1/2 tsp geound Cayenne Pepper

1 large or 4 small cloves of Garlic, pressed

Combine all ingredients, shake well before using.

For Taste Sake

Change up the ingredients - try using some of the wonderful flavored vinegars and oils available. Red Wine vinegar can give it more of an Italian style. Try using tarragon flavored vinegar on a salad with chicken or chicken marinade.

Asian Salmon Lettuce Wraps

These make a great appetizer/hors d'oeuvres or even a lite main dish.

Asian Salmon Lettuce Wraps:
Ingredients
Butter Lettuce (1 or 2 heads)- you can expect to get 4-6 good sized leaves off each head to make each wrap.
1 Good Sized Carrot
1 Head Cabbage
Sesame Oil
Salad Oil/ Vegetable Oil
Sesame Seeds
Soy Sauce
Sweet Chili Sauce
Cucumber
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Olive Oil
Rice Wine Vinegar
Sugar
1 Med/Large Shallot
1 Piece of Salmon Fillet about 4-6" wide

Butter Lettuce Head
Finely sliced cabbage (cut the main vein out of the leafs and thinly slice it separately, stack the leaves, roll them tightly then thinly slice them)
Shredded carrot (for shredding - a julienne peeler makes short work of this task)
About a 4 to 1 ratio of Cabbage to carrot is good (1 cup cabbage 1/4 cup carrot)
If you like cuccumber - cut a chunk in 1/2 lengthwise, scoop out the seeds then cut the halves again into quarters and thinly slice them.

Asian Dressing
1/8 Cup Sesame Oil
1/8 Cup Salad Oil
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Thinly slice the salmon meat  Slicing it crosswise (knife running from tail to head instead of back to belly) holds it together a bit better. Slicing with the knife running back to belly is most common. Slice straight towards the skin then once the knife makes contact with the skin twist your wrist and slice the meat off the skin instead of all the way through the skin.

Make your salad by mixing Cabbage, Carrot, Cucumber, & dressing together in a bowl.

Preheat a shallow frying pan with 1/2 olive oil & 1/2 butter mixture - just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
Dredge the pieces of salmon in seasoned flower (salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika) and brown both sides. Place salmon pieces on a paper towel covered plate to drain. Add 1/2 Butter 1/2 Olive Oil mixture as needed.
When all of the salmon has been cooked and removed, Put 1/4 cup minced shallot in the pan, when the shallot turns translucent, add 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 1/4 cup Sweet Chili Sauce, when it begins to boil, turn the heat off and place in a bowl or gravy boat.

Assemble your wraps by placing a leaf of Butter Lettuce down on a plate, scoop some salad on top, then slices of salmon, topping it off with the sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, fold and eat!


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