Although it says that it
serves 4, I forewarn you that as a side dish, it makes enough for the whole
neighborhood. But that got me to thinking that perhaps this could be
transformed into a main course with the addition of some Southwest-marinated
chicken, in which case, yeah, it would serve about 4.
MAC AND JACK PASTA SALAD
Serves: 4 Difficulty Level: 1 (of 5) Prep Time:
35 Minutes Ready In: 35 Minutes
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 pound macaroni elbows or corkscrew shaped hollow pasta
• Salt
• 1 cup fresh corn, cut off the cob1 red bell pepper, chopped (or 1 large
roasted red pepper, sliced)
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 small can sliced black olives
• 1 can black beans
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• Black pepper
• 8-ounce brick Monterey pepper jack cheese, diced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup homemade or store bought tomatillo salsa (mild, green) or chipotle
salsa (hot, smoky red)
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
or flat-leaf parsley
PROCEDURE:
• Bring water to a boil, salt it and add pasta.
• While pasta water is coming up to a boil and cooking, combine corn, pepper,
onion, black beans and celery in a bowl with pepper Jack cheese. Season the
veggies with salt and pepper.
• Run pasta under cold water to cool it and drain it well. Add pasta to
vegetables and cheese.
Chef's Note:
The addition of the chicken to make it a main course is only one suggestion,
crab or shrimp would work nicely as well.
Enjoy!
CHEF PHIL
