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Fresh summer pasta salad recipe available in Bob Johnson's Left Over Ranch Cookbook
Bob Johnson

Summer Pasta Salad

When summer tomatoes are plentiful and the heat makes cooking feel like too much work, Carolyn makes this vibrant pasta salad. Super simple, quick to make, stores beautifully, and great any time of day, refresh leftovers with a splash of white balsamic and serve with grilled sourdough. One of Bob's favorite summer dishes!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta and Vegetables
  • 16 oz box Cellentani or Tri-colored Rotini pasta, cooked al dente per package directions
  • 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
  • 3 medium carrots sliced on the bias
  • 3 celery stalks sliced on the bias
  • 2 scallions (green onions) thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper cored, sliced and chopped
  • 3-4 radishes chopped
  • 1 jalapeno cored and chopped
  • 1 broccoli crown florets chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
Dressing
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar Filippo Berio or similar
  • ½ cup good olive oil
  • ½ tsp natural sugar
  • ¼ tsp pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
  • splash of white balsamic vinegar

Equipment

  • large pasta pot
  • large mixing bowl

Method
 

  1. Cook the pasta. Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions until al dente. Drain and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Make the dressing. In a large bowl whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper until well blended.
  3. Combine. Add the cooled pasta and all the vegetables to the bowl and toss well to combine. Make sure everything is evenly coated with the dressing.
  4. Serve. Add a splash of white balsamic vinegar just before serving. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Notes

This salad gets better as it sits, make it a few hours ahead or even the day before for best flavor. To refresh leftovers add a splash of white balsamic, salt and pepper, toss well, and serve with grilled sourdough bread. Slicing the carrots and celery on the bias (at an angle) is a small detail that makes the salad look more elegant and gives each piece a slightly better texture. Tri-colored rotini makes this salad visually stunning, the red, green, and white colors against all the fresh vegetables is beautiful on a summer table. Bronze cut pasta holds the dressing better than regular pasta, look for De Cecco rotini if available. This recipe appears in the Pizza and Pasta chapter of the Left Over Ranch Cookbook.