Since July is almost over, and really, in DC July and August tend to blend together into one hazy heat-filled period of time, I'm going to combine July and August's theme into one. True to form, it has indeed been heat-filled here lately, which is when I start to fixate on dishes that are served cold, a favorite being pasta salad.
The classic versions I think of are made with either mayonnaise or Italian dressing along with cubes of cheddar cheese and broccoli. Usually, when I make pasta salad, I go in a completely different direction from those. But I thought that it would be interesting to try to make something in the spirit of those pasta salads, but with a homemade dressing made of more unique ingredients and sans mayonnaise.
The cool thing about this recipe is that I started with the base of the dressing with the pasta, and then added in the other elements somewhat experimentally based on what I had. So you could do a lot of different things with it if you changed which vegetables/fruit/protein you added to it. Other ideas I had included asparagus, zucchini, and almonds.
The dressing might sound complicated, but is very easy as long as you are willing to caramelize the leeks. The flavor that comes out is very interesting and somewhat rich, which then plays off of the vegetables, etc well.
Working on this dressing got be thinking about other summer staples that are often store-bought, but that are easy to make from scratch- salsa and meat marinade in particular came to mind. So the theme for July and August will be summer recipes that you might usually use a store-bought ingredient (in this case, the dressing for the pasta salad) with an easy homemade version. I'll also be doing a post about the topic of homemade versus processed food products in general, looking at some of the advantages to making things yourself instead of buying them. Happy summer!
Pasta Salad with Homemade Caramelized Leek & Goat Cheese Dressing
Makes a large batch, so consider halving if only want a few servings
1 T olive oil
touch of salt
6-7 radishes, sliced very thin
1 bunch broccolini or broccoli(about 2 C chopped)
4 C dry pasta, such as macaroni
1 15-ounce can chick peas
2 medium Granny Smith apples
Dressing
Juice of one lemon
1 t salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
3 T olive oil
1.5 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 T honey
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
2 medium to large leeks (about 2 C chopped), caramelized
1. Remove dark green tops and root from bottom of leeks. To wash, halve leeks lengthwise and thinly slice crosswise in large bowl of cold water. Wash leeks well and lift from water into large colander.
2. Heat 1 T of olive oil in large frying pan over medium heat, add leeks and stir to coat. Sprinkle with salt.
3. Turn to low and cook for 20-30 minutes until brown and caramelized.
4. In meantime, boil large pot of water, about 4 quarts with salt added. When water is boiling, add pasta. Cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Slice radishes into very thin slices. Chop apples into small cubes.
7. Once leeks are done, chop brocollini or broccoli into small pieces, and saute lightly in same pan as leeks were cooked in. Cook only until lightly sauteed but still crisp.
8. Set pasta, fruit and vegetables aside.
9. To make dressing, combine caramelized leeks, lemon juice, salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar, honey, and softened goat cheese in food processor, and combine until ingredients are finely ground.
10. Combine dressing with pasta. Once pasta is room temperature, come both with fruit, vegetables and chick peas. Put in refrigerator until cold. Serve chilled.
