Friday, July 26, 2019

Summer Salad


I’m sure I don’t need to tell you about the horrendous weather we’ve been having this past week—first a weekend with 100+ degrees heat, than a tornado or two in the neighborhood (missed my town, at least). This is not normal, right?

Anyway, you may have noticed quite a few recipes for various kinds of salads on this blog lately. It shouldn’t be a surprise, since salads are quick and easy (and usually cool) to make, and can include a wealth of fresh vegetables, from your own garden or local farmers’ markets.

I decided to jump into the fray because a friend of mine arrived recently with a package of Italian spinach-infused noodles as well as a bundle of brightly-colored carrots, and I decided to try a bright, cheery mixture with a light vinaigrette. I hope it offers you some suggestions, but you can go with whatever ingredients you have on hand (that don’t require a lot of heat or hard work to make into a salad!).


Summer Salad with Italian Pasta

Ingredients:



2 cups dry Italian spinach pasta
6 colorful carrots, coarsely grated


Chopped parsley
Chopped chives (or add thinly sliced shallots)



Dressing:

6 Tblsp Italian olive oil
1 Tblsp Italian white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Boil the pasta according to package instructions (10 minutes?). Remove from the heat, drain, sprinkle with some olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking to itself, and set aside to cool (you can do this in advance).



Peel the rough skin off the carrots and grate them in a food processor with the most coarse holes, or grate by hand if you have a large-hold grater (try not to grate your fingers!)

Toss pasta, carrots, parsley and chives to mix.

Make the (very simple) dressing and toss with the vegetables—not too soupy! And there you have it!



Feel free to add whatever inspires you—cheese (feta or parmesan), other bits of fresh vegetables. Don’t add the dressing until all the ingredients are loosely mixed and you’re ready to serve. You can serve it as a main course or with a protein.

Buon Appetito!


Maybe if Maura Donovan ever gets the kitchen at Sullivan's pub built, she can try out this simple recipe (and there are plenty of fresh vegetables in West Cork!).

Fatal Roots will be out in January 2020.




4 comments:

  1. Happy Friday. Sweet. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
    quilting lady 2 at comcast dot net

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  2. Looks good! And hooray for a new Maura mystery!

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  3. I love spinach pasta. Thanks for the tasty meal idea, Sheila!

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  4. The carrots make it sing visually.

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