Editors' Pick
Kitchen Sink Chipotle & Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad
"This could not be simpler and was a big hit at my daughter's school party today. It really is just a big thrown together bowl of ingredients... which is now how I have to cook with 2 tiny kiddos and no time!"
photo by esteban
- Ready In:
- 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package pasta (curly or tube)
- 10 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese
- 1 (10 ounce) can artichoke hearts
- 1 (6 -8 ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes with Italian herbs, in oil (reserve the oil for sauce)
- 12 ounces grape tomatoes or 12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
- 6 ounces fresh spinach, diced up
- chipotle garnishing sauce (use some of the sauce too) or 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, to taste (use some of the sauce too)
- coarse salt, to taste
- fresh ground pepper, to taste
- mayonnaise, to taste (optional)
directions
- Cook pasta al dente.
- Dice up mozzarella, artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes (i like to use kitchen shears for the sun dried toms).
- Toss cooled pasta (don't want to melt the cheese or maybe you do!) with all the other ingredients.
- Pour reserved sun dried tomato oil (use whatever you need to get it saucy), chipotle sauce (use whatever you desire for spiciness) over pasta, salt and pepper and toss to coat.
- If you can't find the chipotle garnishing sauce (I can't remember where I found mine and it is almost out!) just use some diced up, about 2, chipotles in adobo sauce or just the adobo sauce and add some mayo, about 1/4 cup to make it creamy and you should be fine. I'm all about shortcuts tho so i hope i can find more!
- Refrigerate for a couple hours, but I like overnight.
- Add chopped up spinach before serving at room temperature.
- Oh and don't forget the salt.i feel that salt really makes the flavors of the chipotles come alive!
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Reviews
-
this is a great recipe that i will definately use again in the future with some minor tweaking. i followed it almost exactly except i did add a couple of cloves of garlic & some basil & a drizzle of balsamic vinegar (about 1 tbs). i also grilled up a couple of chicken breast with salt & pepeper only as i wanted to keep the chicken simple since the pasta had such bold flavors. i did found out i dont care for smoked mozzarella so next time i'll probably try feta instead. thanks for a great recipe, my bf loved it & it gave me all sorts of ideas for spin-off recipes!! -
Made as written but added salami and chicken breast. Only used 1 t. chipotle puree and that was perfect for us. -
We really enjoyed this pasta salad. It is different than anything we've had before and that is a good thing! It could easily be made into a more substantial dish with the addition of salami, ham or other meat. But it is equally tasty just the way it is! I served it with some grilled chicken and when the salad is made ahead, the meal came together very quickly. -
I was looking for something for a picnic besides plain old boring pasta salad and boy, did I find it! Everyone was raving about it! I've never heard such a fuss about a pasta salad. Everyone wanted the recipe! I made it exactly except I used whole wheat pasta. Will be making this many times this summer! -
really it just could not get any better than this! all my favorite ingredients blended together for one totally awesome salad, I'm drooling just thinking about it now, I made the mistake of not doubling this and it was gone in a flash, this has gone into my favorites folder and I cannot wait to make it again, thanks for this awesome recipe Mizz Liza!
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Liza at Food.com
Seattle, Washington
<p>I'm a mom of two knuckleheads who continually crack me up and wear me out. I live to eat, cook, drink wine, run and read. I am a baker...I make wedding cakes for friends and family..a ton of work. I also love to search craigslist for stuff I don't need. I also happen to work for Food.com, the best cooking and recipe site out there!</p>
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