Rotini Pasta Salad

Cold pasta salad is just one of those things that’s perfect in the late summer time, around August, when the days are still warm but the nights are starting to cool. It’s a filling dish while being healthy, and most of all, it’s not a hot meal, which just seems out of place in the summer. (Though you may want to consider adding some form of protein. I had a pan-steamed lamb skewer on the side. Vegetarians may prefer adding chickpeas or marinated tofu pieces.)

Having recently discovered multigrain omega-3 pastas (believe it or not), I’ve been eating loads of the pasta I’ve been missing for nearly two years. And no adverse effects that I can tell. Pasta, I’ve missed you so much. (Now if someone could only come up with a multigrain rice, so I can start eating all my infamous curry dishes again.)

Since making some rotini with chili and red kidney beans earlier this week, I’ve been itching to mix up a cold portion of the pasta with diced avocado, diced tomato, onion slivers, and cukes (whatever shape you like). If you’re craving too, and have some fresh field cucumbers (dills), use them. Their skin has so much more texture and crunch than English cukes. If you like raw bell peppers, add some red ones for colour. Or you could use marinated strips of red bell pepper. (Just make sure the skin’s been peeled.)

Throw in a pinch of salt, pepper, Italian seasonings (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil), and toss. Then add a splash of a nice, fruity extra virgin olive oil, toss again, and that’s it. Ahhhh. I can smell aroma of the EVOO right now.

If you want to spice up the pasta a bit, you could always dice up some pepperoncini peppers. And if you have a hankering for soup with the salad, try Orangette’s gorgeous-looking and easy to make cold Gingered Carrot Soup with Avocado. [Check out this link for avocados that Orangette had on her site. Well, she linked to a different page, but I wouldn’t have thought to look for the site otherwise.]