Never did I consider preparing pasta salad for myself until this holiday season. I received a sign up list for my son’s school holiday concert and the list was limited of options were limited. I was suffering from this allergy season, which we call Cedar Fever, here in Austin, Texas, in addition to managing my son’s cold and ear infection.
All in all, I choose the prepare the simplest, healthy, “Collette’ friendly,” option on the list to prepare. The list even stated to make it Gluten Free!
I looked up how in the world to make a pasta salad. Again, it never crossed my mind to make pasta salad since the dishes I have tried at parties or restaurants have tasted horrible. Additionally, the recipes I found did not sound delicious, therefore I took the idea and created this wonderful recipe.
The bowl had only two more servings left at the conclusion of the party.
Recipe:
Approximately 20 servings
8oz pasta, preferably penne or rotini, cooked in olive oil and salt
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and black ground pepper to taste
1 shallot, peeled and minced
2 large carrots, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
12 oz broccoli, chopped
15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Place pasta in large bowl.
Toss pasta with olive oil, salt and ground pepper.
Add into garlic, shallot, carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, beans, basil and lemon juice. Toss to combine.
Cover and refrigerate overnight to at least for 12 hours to marinate.
Remove from refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.
