Pasta, Cheese and Peas Summertime Salad

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Pasta salads are always so popular during the summer months, at pot lucks and family gatherings. Summer is almost here and I am on a green pea kick. I love green peas, I really do. I took my regular Salad Bar Green Pea Salad, changed the dressing a bit and added a pound of cute De Cecco Gemelli Pasta and my Pasta, Cheese and Peas Summer Salad was born. Cooking is fun. Make it fun.

If you can get your hands on De Cecco Pasta, I promise, you will not be disappointed. It holds up well in all kinds of recipes and it is my preferred pasta of choice. De Cecco isn’t sold in all grocery stores, but Amazon has great prices. My two favorite shapes, Gemelli Pasta and Cavatappi Pasta are actually priced lower than many of the other shapes on Amazon.

Either shape work well with this recipe and I love to use Cavatappi Pasta for Macaroni and Cheese. Plan a head, as you will want to allow the dressing to marinate overnight in the refrigerator with the salad.

If you keep Kosher, skip the bacon and use poached chicken instead. The pasta salad will be just as good and I love to switch it up with bacon, ham or chicken.

You can make the dressing while the pasta is cooking. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add salt and pasta. Cook for the time indicated on the package. I like to heavily salt my pasta water and then I don’t add much salt to the dressing after it is cooked.

Strainer Basket and rinse it with cool water to stop the cooking and set aside.

Remove the inner part of the onion and discard; it’s kinda bitter.

Dice the onion finely, or if you want thin slivers, make thin slivers.

Dice the cheese into small cubes and make them as even as you can, or grate the cheese, if you like.

Chop up your bacon, ham or chicken and add it to your mixing bowl.

Add all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and whisk it together well.

Using a large mixing bowl, add the peas, bacon and onion.

Dump in the dressing and gently mix it though the pea mixture.

Add in the cheese and mix everything together. It’s good enough to eat like this, or, you can try my Salad Bar Pea Salad, which is very similar to this Pasta, Cheese and Peas Summer Salad, but with a different dressing.

This makes a beautiful presentation and is tasty enough to bring to an important Pot Luck or Family Function. If you prefer a your pasta to have more dressing, make an extra half batch. I like the dressing on the light side for this salad.

Equipment Used

Here is your handy printable recipe:

Pasta, Cheese and Peas Summertime Salad

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

Crispy bacon, sharp cheddar cheese and homemade dressing make for a fresh and summery pasta salad studded with green peas.

Author: This Old Gal

Recipe type: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

8 Slices Crisp Bacon, chopped or crumbled
1 pound Gemelli or Cavatappi Pasta
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
3.5 cups Fresh Water
½ cup Mayonnaise
1.5 teaspoons Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Sugar
1.5 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1.5 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
¼ cup Red Onion, finely diced
10 oz Fresh or Frozen Peas
4 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, cubed or grated
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

Instructions

Add pasta, salt and water to Pressure Cooker cooking pot.
Lock on lid and close Pressure Valve.
Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
When Beep sounds, allow a 1 minute Natural Pressure Release and then a Quick Release.
When all pressure has been released, remove lid.
Remove cooking pot and pour in fresh cool water.
Drain water from pasta and rinse until no longer hot.
In a small bowl add mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and whisk together.
In a large bowl, add peas, cheese and bacon and pour in dressing. Gently mix together and then add pasta and combine.
Allow the Salad to hang out in the refrigerator overnight.