It is officially the time of year when I begin to hate my oven. And my kitchen. And food in general. It is just too hot to bother.
Summer is when the cooling staples come out to play: vegetable salads and watermelon, simple sandwiches and the ever classic pasta salad.
The thing that I appreciate about pasta salad, is that you can cook up a huge batch of noodles, shock them in cold water, toss everything with a bit of oil to keep it from sticking, pop them in the fridge and then make a different pasta salad every night, while only heating up the kitchen once. Everyone wins.
I have to confess to another oven-less shortcut here… I found some really lovely smoked salmon at the grocery store and decided that it would find a new home in a pasta salad. One more way NOT to turn on the oven. The smokey-sweet salmon created just a hint of grills and cookouts without a hint of heat.
Most pasta salads are swimming in mayo – and I confess, this one makes use of it. But only a dollop or so. Most of the flavor comes from lemon juice and fresh herbs and tart tomatoes. Start to finish, this salad took me less than 20 minutes to make and was enough for dinner for 2.
What is your go to summer salad? – Lydia, closet salmon smoker
Ingredients
- 6 oz Cold Smoked Salmon
- 8 oz Pasta Shells - I used Cavatelli, a smaller oval shell
- 1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2-3 sprigs Fresh Dill, snipped fine
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Chives, snipped fine
- 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
- Juice from one small Lemon
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
Method
- Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Most pasta comes in 16 oz boxes, so you can cook the entire box and have enough leftover for another pasta salad another night. Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer in cold water until the pasta is 100% cool.
- In the meantime, shred the smoked salmon. Toss it in a large bowl with the sliced tomatoes, fresh herbs, mayonnaise and lemon juice.
- Once the pasta is done cooking and cooling, add it to the bowl with the salmon. Toss to mix and taste. Add salt and pepper and more lemon juice if needed and toss again.
- This salad can be served immediately, but is best if it sits for 60 minutes or so in the fridge to allow for the flavors to mix.
I too hate the oven in the summer. But I love the grill. So today I am roasting up some butternut squash and brussel sprouts on the outside. In a cool AM breeze. The squash takes about an hour. When it’s done, I will put the squash on a plate and let it cool in the fridge for a day. Then the skin just falls off. I let the sprouts cool down too.
As far as pasta goes, I am quite partial to the fresh fusilli Sam makes at Pasta Locale. Al dente in about three minutes. I will cook two pounds at a time. So it’s good for a week for friends
I like to puree the the butternut squash with tournante olives from Caputo’s with a little fresh lemon juice. I chop up the brussel sprouts and the lemon zest, sometimes with some of Frody’s speck from Salt and Smoke. I pour the puree (pouree?) over the fusilli. And smile.