Broccoli and bacon make a great combination. I especially like broccoli salad with bacon because of the contrast with the leafy green veg and crispy meat. In this recipe for pasta salad with broccoli and fried bacon, I add pasta to the mix, as well as a few more veggies for good measure.
I am aware that pasta salad is considered a summer food, but being the eternal optimist, and having seen the latest weather forecasts for London, I believe we soon enough will be visiting the park for a spring picnic. One can only hope!
It is not important whether we have to eat it inside huddled on the couch or, with better luck, on a picnic blanket in the park. Regardless of the weather, a pasta salad is easy to make and is a quick and cheap lunch to bring to University in a plastic box. Plus, it stays fresh for 1-2 days in the fridge! Make a large bowl and you are set for lunch, dinner AND picnic time!
What we need:
- 500g of Penne pasta
- 1 large red onion
- 200g of broccoli
- 200g of Feta cheese
- 100g of black olives, without pits
- 200g of sliced bacon
- 100g of sun-dried tomatoes
- 3 large ripe tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- 3 pinches of ground pepper (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 and ½ decilitre of crème fraiche (sour cream or natural thick yoghurt for cooking)
- 2 cloves of garlic
How we make it:
- Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and put in a bowl for later.
- Chop the onion into thin slices.
- Chop the tomatoes and cucumber into squares.
- Chop the olives into halves.
- Put all the chopped vegetables into a large bowl.
- Fry the bacon in the oil. Take off excess fat with paper and let it dry.
- Once cool, cut the bacon into slices and place in a bowl.
- Grate the Feta cheese over the salad and add the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Mix all the ingredients and carefully put the pasta in the large bowl.
- Add the pepper according to taste.
- Pour the crème fraiche into a small bowl and press the garlic cloves into it. Mix carefully and pour into a salad bowl. Mix with all the ingredients.
Serves: 3-4
Time needed: 20 minutes
Level: very easy
Tags: bacon, broccoli, cucumber, Feta cheese, garlic, olives, pasta, pasta salad, pasta salad with broccoli and bacon, quick cuisine, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, yoghurt
This entry was posted on Monday, 2 April, 2012 at 12:26 pm by Leanne Summers and is filed under Less than 30 minutes, Main Courses, Meal for 4 people.
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