I have written many times about how much my wife & I enjoy waking up on Saturday morning and heading down to the farmer's market. There is so much more to sample than fresh produce. There is art, fresh-brewed coffee, salsas, meat, dairy, and all sorts of fresh pastries. We crave the apple cider donuts!
This past weekend I was visiting our in-laws in the Quad Cities and we went to their farmer's market. They had something I had never seen in Iowa City -- fresh pasta! Not only that, but a lot of it was flavored. After menu planning our dinner for Saturday night, I was tasked with making a fresh summer pasta salad. This "Calypso Blend" sounded amazing: Lime, Mango-Peach, Red Chili ... yum!
We were grilling fresh peppers, zucchini squash, and corn on the cob to go with our brats & hot dogs. So I sliced up some fresh tomato, red bell pepper, and cilantro to go into the pasta salad.
After boiling the pasta for a few short minutes in salted water, letting them drain & cool, I added it to the bowl and topped it all with some parmesan cheese, salt & pepper, and lemon zest. Then you can make the simplest vinaigrette with equal parts fresh lemon juice & olive oil.
It really is that simple. I like this kind of pasta salad because it isn't as heavy as a mayonnaise-based pasta salad. It seems bright and fresh for summer. The cilantro adds a nice floral note, and the lemon gives it a real pop with all that acidity. You could really tell we used fresh pasta because it had a great chewy texture. The seasoning came through on the pasta too and rounded out the dish nicely. I got a few compliments from my wife's family ... and that always feels nice.
This picture is really blurry for some reason, but here it is anyway:
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