Hi!
It’s been forever since I’ve posted anything, so I’m going
with my impulse today and just posting about what I’m doing. We’re off to a BBQ
for dinner, so I’m starting Summer early and making my EZ Trader Joe’s Pasta
Salad. My local store stopped carrying
Spinach Fusilli, so I’m experimenting with new pastas in search of a good
replacement.
I actually hate pasta salad – sorry, sis, that includes the
one you make with the slimy cubes of cheddar - so one summer I vowed to create
one that I would enjoy eating. This is the recipe that resulted. You only need
to know how to chop and boil to make this.
All but two of the ingredients for this tasty pasta salad
are available at Trader Joe’s, hence the
name. #1 Sadly, the Trader Joe’s brand of capers is horrible, so either buy the
brand name I list or another one that you trust. You may also make the salad
without capers, if you choose. #2 Trader Joe’s does not have spinach fusilli,
period. The flavor and texture of spinach fusilli really enhance this dish, so
I don’t recommend substitutions, unless you can’t find spinach fusilli.
Lem’s EZ “Trader Joe’s” pasta salad
This recipe makes a large amount, more than enough to take
to a potluck or picnic. My family doesn’t mind, though. They’ll eat it
enthusiastically for a week solid!
Ingredients:
2
Jars “Trader Giotto’s Artichoke Antipasto” (12 oz. each)
1
Jar “Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Red Peppers (or the yellow and red garlic
fire roasted, for more color) (12 oz.)
1
jar “Trader Joe’s Spanish Manzanilla Olives (14.5 oz)
1
jar “Mezzetta Capers (4 oz.)
6
cups Spinach fusilli pasta (6 cups
BEFORE boiling)*
You
can substitute Barilla tri-color Rotini –1.5 boxes (18 oz./510
grams). Today
I’m trying Trader Joe’s Organic Vegetable
Radiatore and also their Organic
Brown Rice & Quinoa Fusilli
(a small side batch for my gluten-free efforts),
so the capers may
end up the only ingredient that doesn’t come from TJoe’s!
½
teaspoon ground white pepper (or to taste)
salt
to taste
Instructions:
Drain the peppers and olives and fine chop them. Combine
them with the Artichoke Antipasto, and the capers in a mixing bowl. Sometimes,
the Artichoke Antipasto has some tough pieces, so you may want to get your
hands in there and make sure the mixture doesn’t have hard lumps, but you don’t
have to. Set aside the mixture so it’s ready when the pasta is still warm.
Break the pasta into smaller pieces if the spirals are
longer than 1” before they are cooked. This is done most easily by applying an
untwisting motion where you want to break the piece of pasta. You can do this
while you watch television, long before you start the salad.
Boil the fusilli in well salted water until it is just a
little underdone (i.e. chewy), then rinse it with cold water to slow/stop the
cooking process. Don’t wait for the pasta to cool all the way.
Sprinkle white pepper over the pasta and mix it in.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend.
Taste it and if necessary, sprinkle salt sparingly over the
pasta and mix that in.
Now, let it sit in the fridge to cool.
Enjoy!
