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08/20/2020 12:01 AMDo you remember Willard Scott from the Today show? I saw him a few years ago at a Sunday brunch at the Saybrook Point Inn. I always liked his birthday wishes to anyone over 100 years, sponsored by Smucker’s.
I also laughed at his “best ever,” wherever he was broadcasting. The “best pancake” he ever had, the “best meatloaf” in all of Indiana, the most “beautiful sunshine” in the Sunshine State. I think about him whenever I tell you about the best restaurant, the best entrée, the best ice cream, the best summer I can remember.
This was a nice summer and, with little rain, this has been excellent for growing and cooking food.
I have used every single vegetable I chose from my CSA (community-supported agriculture). In addition to my CSA, I have spent many Tuesdays at my local community farm. I have also bought sweet corn, big tomatoes, and gorgeous peaches at one of my local farms
Friends have given me beautiful heads of garlic and eggplant and a Facebook friend wrote I can get all his basil, or he would bring it to me. I have an entire pound of pine nuts, olive oil, and lots of Parmesan to grate for all the pasta I will cook in the winter.
Yesterday I made a very interesting pasta salad.
The recipe includes chipotle adobo sauce for the dressing and fresh, chopped basil. I had a few packets of merguez (lamb) sausage in the freezer, which I sautéed and cut into little pieces for the salad. I liked the meat addition, but the lamb sausage is very spicy and I had read the recipe incorrectly, adding two tablespoons instead of two teaspoons of the adobo. If you like, add some sausage (sweet Italian or kielbasa); otherwise, it is a lovely vegetarian entrée.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Chipotle Pasta Salad with Mozzarella
Adapted from Food Magazine, September, 2020
Ingredients:
1 pound rotini or fusilli
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup whole milk (I used 2 percent Parmalat lactose-free)
2 to 3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 to 3 teaspoons adobo sauce
(from canned chipotle peppers)
Kosher salt or sea salt and freshly ground pepper,
to taste
2 cups red and/or grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and chopped
12 ounces mozzarella (fresh or smoked, I used fresh),
cut into small cubes
24 or so fresh basil leaves, chopped
Directions
• Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, rinse under cool water and set aside in a large bowl.
• Combine mayonnaise and milk in a medium bowl, then add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and stir until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons of adobo sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Stir the dressing until combined. Give it a taste and add more vinegar if you like it a little bite, or add adobo sauce if you’d like it to have a little more heat.
• Drizzle the dressing over the pasta, throw in the tomatoes and cucumber, then add the cheese. Stir pasta around, then add the basil and stir until it is all combined. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Taste and season again before serving.