There are occasions when “The Big Guy” and I are invited to a BBQ or a potluck event with friends. I like to offer this Summer Crunch Pasta Salad. I have also made this salad for buffets and even for a garden wedding. It is a keeper for its colourful presentation and fresh crisp taste along with its variety of textures and crunch. This is a salad that “The Big Guy” is keen to eat as it dresses up the quantity of meat he piles on his plate. He is definitely a Carnivore… not an Herbivore!

I landed on this recipe at www.chelseasmessyapron.com where it was called Autumn Crunch Pasta Salad. It appealed to me because it does not have a creamy dressing that is sometimes difficult to serve on hot summer days. I have made this more often in the summer and I have added more ingredients and directions. Advance preparation is the key! In fact, I have arrived at an event with these salad ingredients in ZipLock bags and the dressing in a jam jar. It took only minutes to mix the salad and add it to the table. The Granny Smith apple will stay crisp and white if you slice thin wedges into a ZipLock with 1 tsp of lemon juice and seal it immediately. It has quite a sweet taste when prepared this way.

Otherwise, you can mix and dress this salad in advance but I would hold back on adding the apple, pecans and spinach until just before serving at the table.

“The Big Guy” would be looking for an ice-cold frosty beer and an iced beer glass on any one of those hot summer days.

Ingredients:

1 yellow, orange or red pepper (or combination), cut in strips then halved

1 ½ cup dry small/short pasta, cook in salted water to al dente (Bowties, Rotini, Macaroni or Scooby Doos)

2 handfuls of small spinach leaves, stems trimmed and leaves crosscut

¾ cup celery, chopped

¾ cup dried cranberries

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 large Granny Smith apple, cut in thin wedges

1 tsp lemon juice

1/3 cup candied or toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

Dressing: 

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2-4 Tbsp white sugar

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp onion powder

4 Tbsp olive oil

½ Tbsp poppyseeds

Method

1. Cook the pasta to al dente by the directions on your package.
2. Chop and refrigerate all salad items in individual ZipLock Bags.
3. Prepare and store dressing in a jam jar. Shake to dissolve the sugar.
4. In your salad bowl, mix and dress the salad. Hold back the spinach, apple and pecans. Add them just before serving to the table so they maintain their colour, crunch and firmness.

Prepare Toasted Pecans: In a small dry skillet, over medium heat, toast the pecans only until they start to become fragrant and begin to show a color change. Remove from the heat immediately and spread the pecans on a cool surface.