BLT Pasta Salad with Romaine Lettuce Dressing

servings: 4 to 6 servings, with about 2 cups Romaine Lettuce Dressing

Romaine Lettuce Dressing:

2 romaine hearts, halved
5 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup Greek yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

BLT Pasta Salad:

1 pound short-cut pasta
4 strips extra thick-cut bacon
2 cups Romaine Lettuce Dressing
2 cups lightly packed baby spinach or chopped romaine
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1 cup finely chopped sundried tomatoes
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Romaine Lettuce Dressing:

Heat a grill pan over high heat. Then brush the 4 lettuce halves on the cut side with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Grill the lettuce cut-side-down until it is slightly charred and wilted—about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lettuce from the grill pan, coarsely chop it and discard the stems.
Combine the lettuce, remaining 4 tablespoons of oil, yogurt, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. If all of the lettuce does not fit at one time, puree a portion of it, adding more as you do, until it is all in the food processor. Once it has all been pureed, set it aside for later.

BLT Pasta Salad:

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions. Then drain it, rinse it under cold water, and set it aside.
While the pasta cooks, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until it is crispy—about 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels. Once it is cool enough to handle, coarsely chop it; this should give you about 1½ cups of bacon pieces. Set the bacon aside for later.
Toss the pasta with the Romaine Lettuce Dressing, spinach or romaine, grape tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, onion, salt, and pepper. Top it with the bacon and serve!

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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With summer finally being thisclose, I’m starting to look for things I can bring to a BBQ or out to the beach—foods that can be served at room temperature, and won't have reduced themselves to some crazy-looking concoctions by the time they’re ready to be served.

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Pasta salads are always a good bet, and when you add a homemade lemon aioli (I stole the recipe from my cookbook, Meat On The Side!) and the perfect balance of textures and flavors, you are guaranteed to be the hit of the party!

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For the aioli, you just add garlic, mustard, lemon juice, and egg yolk to a blender, then drizzle in some oil.

That’s it!

And the combination of those ingredients, although kind of basic, creates a taste that is out of this world—creamy, tangy, and light!

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Once you add your all-star aioli to chunks of cheddar, richly-flavored sundried tomatoes, juicy grape tomatoes, and crunchy lettuce, you end up with a simple pasta salad that doesn’t taste so simple.

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This incredible dish is about using familiar flavors, but making them the best they can be.

And this is the best pasta salad EVER!

Tomato + Cheddar Lemon Aioli Pasta Salad

servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon + zest of half of the lemon
1 small garlic clove, sliced
1½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup vegetable oil
16 ounces dry rotini pasta
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups packed spring mix lettuce
¾ cup coarsely chopped sundried tomatoes
8 ounces cubed sharp cheddar cheese (¼-inch cubes)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat for cooking the rotini. Add the egg yolk, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the salt to a blender and blend on high for about 10 seconds. Then, with the machine still running, slowly add ¼ cup of the oil at a time, until the mixture is thick and smooth. Set aside.
When the water boils, add the rotini and cook according to the package directions. When done, drain and transfer to a large bowl, allowing the pasta to cool.
Once the pasta has cooled, to the same bowl, add the tomatoes, spring mix, sundried tomatoes, cheese, remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and the pepper, then stir to combine. Serve and enjoy!

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking