Pasta salad easily thrown together

  • By Alison Ladman Associated Press
  • Thursday, August 29, 2013 4:43pm
  • Life

A pasta salad should be easy. It should be a just-throw-the-ingredients-in-a-bowl kind of summer food that doesn’t require too much messing around.

With that in mind, we designed this salad to be just that. We do a quick boil of the pasta, and we throw in the veggies to blanch during the last 2 minutes. This simple trick saves you a pot to wash and an extra step.

Then we add some flavor in the way of salty prosciutto and sweet melon, and you’ve got a classic Italian pairing turned into summer side dish.

The combinations really are limitless. You can substitute any shape pasta you prefer. Switch out the prosciutto for bacon or salami, green beans for the asparagus, peaches for the cantaloupe.

The great thing about pasta salad is that it’s so easy to make it yours.

Prosciutto, cantaloupe and orecchiette salad

16 ounces orecchiette pasta

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced

4 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1 cup diced cantaloupe

1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Salt and ground black pepper

Shaved Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.

Two minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, add the asparagus. When the pasta is finished, drain immediately and mix in several ice cubes. Stand the strainer of pasta and asparagus in the sink and run cool water over them until completely cooled.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and mustard. Add the cooked and cooled pasta and asparagus, the fennel, prosciutto, cantaloupe and basil. Gently stir to combine and distribute the dressing. Season with salt and pepper, then garnish with the Parmesan.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 320 calories; 70 calories from fat (22 percent of total calories); 8 g fat (1.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 10 mg cholesterol; 49 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 14 g protein; 470 mg sodium.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.