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Recipe of the Week: BLT Pasta Salad

So much locally grown food to choose from

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It’s Labor Day weekend and time to have a picnic. To make it a good one, head for your favorite farm market or farm store for locally grown ingredients.

Locally grown produce is the best; just ask the experts. I did when I visited the Plumsteadville Grange Farmers Market in Plumsteadville last weekend.

Meg Lomax, who manages the market, said she will be making a corn and tomato pie, using corn and tomatoes currently in season. She also plans on making deviled eggs, always a picnic favorite.

Edna White of M&E Edibles, Cake Designs & Catering said she will bring pies to a picnic; the same kinds of seasonal deep-dish fruit pies she sells at the market. Depending on what fruit she finds available, they could be blueberry, peach, peach-blueberry or apple. She also will be local vegetables and fruit for a salad.

There is so much to choose from this time of year that’s it’s hard to go wrong whether you want to make a salad using fresh tomatoes, greens, peppers, cabbage, onions, arugula or potatoes, or just want zucchini and yellow squash for grilling.

Foods grown locally are the freshest; they don’t have to be picked early in order to be firm enough to be shipped and can be left to ripen longer to develop more flavor and nutrients.

Choose peaches, raspberries and local apples for easy desserts such as cobblers or crisps or jazzed-up beverages such as peach bellinis.

I found that produce and more at the Grange’s farmers market. Markets continue Saturdays into the fall and feature much more than just produce.

If you are looking for something different to make for Labor Day, this recipe is from thepioneerwoman.com:

BLT Pasta Salad

1 12-ounce package bacon

1 16-ounce box fusilli or curly pasta

1 cup mayonnaise

¾ cup whole milk

1 1-ounce packet ranch seasoning mix

Juice of one lemon

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

2 cup thinly sliced romaine lettuce

½ cup chopped red onion

¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, such as dill and/or parsley

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, turning as needed, until the fat has rendered and the bacon is golden and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. (You may need to cook the bacon in two batches, draining the rendered fat from the skillet between batches.) Let the bacon cool to room temperature, then crumble up into bite-sized pieces.

2. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and let cool.

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, milk, ranch seasoning, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, and black pepper. Add the pasta, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, herbs and half of the crumbled bacon to the bowl with the dressing. Gently fold together to coat. Top with remaining bacon and serve.

To make the pasta salad the day before, do not stir in the romaine lettuce or bacon until just before serving. This will keep them crunchy and give your salad great texture.


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