Holy Sauce History Recipes

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This perfect summertime pasta salad recipe is not only quick and easy but is exploding with flavor from the crispy porky pancetta to the fresh tomato, sweet corn, pickled red onion, shaves of salty cheesy parmesan, and spicy arugula for a unique mouth-watering bite every time!

Nothing says summer quite like the perfect pasta salad to take on a picnic, great for a cookout, or the star of the potluck. You’ll be making this super quick and easy pasta salad loaded with fresh flavor-filled ingredients all summer long!

One of the best things about pasta salad is how it can be made in advance, developing even more flavor after it’s made. Less time in the kitchen and more time outside creating a zestful summer is a huge goal and this recipe totally hits the spot!

Note: if you do decide to make this in advance, you want to make sure it’s at room temperature before serving to make sure the olive oil isn’t cold and hard.

Sweetcorn and Pancetta Mustard Pasta

ingredients

1/2 lb short pasta

4 oz of pancetta, cubed

6 oz cherry tomatoes, halved

2 large garlic cloves, smashed & peeled

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/4–1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2–3 ears of cooked corn, kernels removed

1/4 cup pickled red onions, chopped

very large handful of arugula, roughly torn

small handful of fresh basil, torn

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar or honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon aleppo pepper flakes (optional)

How to prepare...

Pasta Salad Tips

Cook your pasta perfectly al dente. The texture is everything to me in a dish and NO ONE wants soft pasta, it should have some chew.
Let your pasta slightly completely before tossing it into the sauce. The trick is to let the pasta cool for a few minutes so it’s still warm and will absorb more of the flavors. For the more delicate ingredients like certain vegetables and cheese, you want to wait until the pasta is mostly cooled before adding those like the arugula, basil and parmesan.
Taste and adjust. This recipe is more of a suggestion, make it the way YOU want to, it’s designed to be flexible so if it needs more oil, some salt, more of your favorite ingredient, or something else you decide! Taste and adjust to create your perfect pasta salad!
Save some herbs for garnish! This pasta salad recipe is a great one to make ahead, but if you do, save the arugula and basil for the last minute and even MORE basil for a beautiful garnish.