In the Kitchen: Antipasto Pasta Salad
Pasta salads are basically a 4th of July tradition. At least to me for a couple of reasons. First, the end of June/beginning of July the temperature begins to start hitting over 110 more frequently. This makes cooking or consuming heavy meals uncomfortable. Second, everything about pasta salad screams summer and al fresco eating. I mean BBQs, picnics, or even just casual meals at home can welcome a tasty pasta salad. And, I won't lie, as an Italian, I'm a fan of any dish featuring a good noodle or a really good antipasto. Antipasto Pasta Salad combines two things I've joyously grown up eating. This is one of my favorite pasta salad recipes. Trust me, I've taste tested a few and this one seemed to be a bigger crowd pleaser than the others. It's not your typical deli-style pasta salad although it features the same rotini noodles. I consider it a more charcuterie board type of salad. Meaning, it doesn't matter which kind of cheese, olives, or other meats you add, it's all going to be just as delicious. The more the merrier truly.
img_4712.jpg
My overall goal with pasta salad is to work smarter not harder. I don't want to spend too much time heating up my kitchen. I want that pasta done and cooled fast. No extra heating required. This is also why I chose roasted red peppers from a jar. There are many varieties from strips to half peppers, just chop and go. Plus, no one will even know. I could eat this pasta salad and its variations for the entire summer. Of course, that's not realistic, but it's just that tasty. Never skimp on the chilling time. The colder it is the better it is. It has the time to soak up the vinaigrette making it even better.
NOTE: I used prosciutto in this particular recipe because it seems to fly off the charcuterie board faster than any other meat when it comes to my friends. Beware of the salt content if you do decide to add it. There is salt in the vinaigrette and the pasta salad could become too salty.
Processed with VSCO with a2 preset
AntipastoPastaSalad-NEW