BLT Pasta Salad
A perfect pasta salad inspired by the King of Sandwiches, perfect for the heat of summer, but equally at home in the middle of winter. Can be eaten warm or cold.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (1/2 lb) of pasta (farfalle, penne, rigatoni, even orzo etc) this is approximately 4 cups and a bit, depending on the type of pasta you choose.
- 1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp runny honey
- 1/2 tsp Aleppo or Espelette pepper
- 8 rashers bacon or more, if you really love bacon!
- 2 cups packed of baby kale, spinach or arugula
- 2-3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp or up to 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2-1 tsp extra cracked pepper
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350F.
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Place tomatoes in a baking dish. Toss with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and aleppo or espelette pepper. Drizzle honey over the tomatoes.
Roast for 20 minutes or so, till skins are just starting to burst. A little charring is fine.
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Meanwhile sauté up the bacon over medium heat. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Pat dry and when cooled, tear into bite sized pieces.
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Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Put into a large bowl.
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When the tomatoes are done, remove to cool. In the remaining oil and any tomato juices place the arugula, toss to coat. This will soften the arugula just enough.
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In the bowl with the pasta, add 3/4 of the tomatoes, 3/4 of the bacon, and 3/4 of the arugula.
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In a small bowl mix 2 tbsp mayo and 2 tsp lemon juice. Start with this, and test. Adjust to your favourite consistency. I didn't want it too thick, but you may want it a touch thicker, so starting with less lemon is good. You can always add more of either. Add the pepper.
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Toss into the salad. Stir to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the final tomatoes, bacon and arugula on top.
Grind some fresh pepper on top.
Recipe Notes
This will feed four comfortably as a main meal. It will obviously serve more as a side dish.
It tastes great warm (as a winter dinner) or room temperature for the summer. It even tastes great cold, for those who are raiding the fridge the next day!