What's for Dinner?

I bought this pasta salad at the Whole Foods deli once and was so in love with it that I set out to find the recipe. And there it was in one of my all-time favorite cookbooks The Whole Foods Cookbook. It's a great complete light meal on a hot summer night or the perfect side dish with some grilled chicken. It's also a hit at potlucks and picnics.

Ingredients

Parmesan Dressing:

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 and 1/2 tsp.)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad:

1/2 pound penne pasta
2 cups packed baby spinach, washed and stemmed
2 small jarred roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 pound smoked mozzarella cheese, diced

Directions

For Dressing:

Combine the Parmesan cheese, parsley, mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper with a hand mixer or in the bowl of food processor or in a blender until the dressing is smooth.

For Salad:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain the pasta into a colander, run cold water over it or submerge it in ice water until chilled through, and drain well. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, spinach, roasted red peppers, and smoked mozzarella. Add dressing and combine (I've found that you don't need all of the dressing, just add a little at a time until it's to your liking).

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