Spring Pasta Salad

Spring will be here soon. I have my pastel pants ready. Spring means picnics, Easter and potlucks. If your Easter looks anything like mine, you’ll spend the morning at church, and spend the afternoon piling a plate with food from grandmother’s and aunt’s signature dishes. A staple at Easter potluck has always been pasta salad. Here is a fresh twist on pasta salad. It is colorful like spring and slightly sweet. It’s really simple to toss together and you can’t go wrong. I know Easter isn’t until the end of March, but stick this in your meal planner, or whip it up this weekend for a fresh lunch.

Here’s what you’ll need:

8 oz of farfalle (bow tie) pasta

2 cups of fresh, chopped broccoli (uncooked)

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1/2 cup seedless grapes, cut in half lengthwise

4 slices of bacon, crumbled

1 cup of mayo

1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Begin by cooking pasta according to package instructions. When pasta is al dente, strain pasta and set aside to cool.

Rinse a large head of broccoli and chop into smaller pieces. You’ll want to create small, bite size pieces of broccoli to stir into the pasta salad.

Rinse and slice strawberries and grapes. Chop cashews into quarters.

In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, vinegar and sugar until smooth and combined.

Once pasta is completely cooled, toss the strawberries, grapes, broccoli and cashews together with the pasta. Pour the mayo and vinegar mixture into the pasta salad and stir to evenly coat all ingredients with the liquid.

Cook strips of bacon. Chop and crumble onto the salad right before serving. Refrigerate to keep fresh.

Isn’t it beautiful? I just want to display it on a red and white checkered picnic table and drink some lemonade. Spring will come soon enough…and when it does, I will be ready with pasta salad.