Warm Pasta Salad

Growing up a quick and simple dish to take to picnics or just have for dinner was a pasta salad. In the summer time my mom was great with making delicious cold pasta salads that would just hit the spot! of course I could just eat the salad as a main dish, which I often did, but a perfect side for it despite hot weather was always cheesy garlic bread! Well, seems that I'm running low on groceries and a quick trip to a local farmers market brought home some fresh green peppers and basil foccata bread, and I had some fresh tomatoes and onions on hand. So I had to figure out something to make for dinner. After all, a girl's gotta eat! Raiding the cupboards I realized I also had some pasta and seasonings I could use, so I pooled my resources and decided to do my own take on my mom's pasta salad to make a delicious warm dish (though it could also be eaten cold and taste just as delicious!)

Ingredients

Pasta (angel hair or spaghetti pasta work best)

1 Green Pepper 

Onion

1 Tomato

Garlic

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing 

Salt/pepper

Salami (optional)

Parmesan cheese or feta cheese

Assembly

Cook the pasta as directed. While the pasta cooks wash, derib, and dice up the green pepper, dice up the tomato, and dice up equal amount of onion. In a medium sauce pan drizzle some olive oil and add the diced up veggies. Cook veggies until onions are caramelized. Add the salt/pepper, garlic (I used garlic poweder but if using actual garlic cloves thinly dice up desired amount and add it to the pan for flavor), and drizzle enough balsamic vinaigrette on top for a thin coating. Lower heat and mix everything together then let simmer a moment. Usually by now the pasta is done cooking. Drain and rinse the pasta. With some of the excess liquid simmered off turn off the heat and add the pasta to the frying pan. Using tongs toss the salad together in the frying pan until well mixed. If you need/want to add more of the dressing or anything feel free to do it at this point. I also added some sliced up salami to the mix (added it at the end). Serve and top it with some fresh grated parmesan cheese or feta cheese. A nice warm dish that will hit the spot!

Final Thoughts

It's a pretty simple recipe that you can spice up in many different ways. You can add other veggies to it, or mix in some calamata or black olives, or if you want a little more of a spice try using some cayanne to the mix. I also made myself a nice side dish of cheesy garlic bread with the fresh basil foccata bread I'd bought at the farmer's market. You can also use french bread. Just preheat oven to about 250-300 degrees. Cut the bread into slices and butter one side, sprinkle some garlic powder and top with mozzarella or your choice of cheese. Put in the oven and head until cheese is melted (about 4 mins). Quick and simple side dish! Well hope you enjoy! Happy eats!