Pasta Salad With Grilled Lemon Chicken Roasted Peppers And Goat Cheese Recipes

LEMON GRILLED CHICKEN AND PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Beat mustard, oil and lemon juice with wire whisk until well blended.
• Mix pasta, chicken, broccoli and red pepper in large bowl. Add mustard mixture; toss to coat. Cover.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

GRILLED LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Place the chicken on a plate and rub both sides of the chicken fillets with 1-2 Tablespoons lemon pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour to let the flavors develop.
• While the chicken is in the fridge, get the grill ready. When the coals are ready, spray the grill with a nonstick spray and place the chicken on the grill.
• Cook for about 6 minutes and turn over. Cook for another six minutes. Put the chicken on a plate to rest and to collect the juices.
• While the chicken is marinading, get a large pot of water boiling and put in the pasta noodles. Bring back to a boil, stirring the noodles so they don't stick to the bottom. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 7-11 minutes (or until the noodles are tender).
• Drain off the hot water and run a stream of cool water over the noodles until they are cold. Drain off most of the water, add 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil to prevent the noodles from sticking, and drain into a colander.
• To cook the broccoli florets, get a large saucepan with about 3 inches of water in it on the stove. Bring the water to a boil and put the broccoli in and toss to cook evenly. It only needs to cook for about 2-3 minutes, drain off all the water and run cold water on the florets to cool them off and stop the cooking process so they won't be mushy.
• All of these steps can be done ahead of time to make the salad easy to assemble. To make the dressing right in the bowl for the salad, place 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper with 1 Tablespoon water in a large serving bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. With a whisk, blend in the vinegar, oil, mustard, and honey.
• Slice the chicken into 1 inch cubes and put in the bowl with the dressing, adding the cooked pasta, broccoli, celery, oranges, and onion. Toss to coat.
• TIP: To get the segments from the orange, with a sharp paring knife, cut off the top and bottom of the orange so it will sit evenly on the cutting surface. Using the paring knife, cut down along the peel, following the shape of the fruit, removing any peel and white rind. Hold the fruit in your hand and carefully cut along both sides of each segment, going towards the center to free each segment. If you do this over a plate, you get all the beautiful juices from the fruit to add to the vinaigrette.

ROASTED-PEPPER PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Shake off the excess water. Meanwhile, place the bell peppers cut-side down on a foil-lined broiler pan, add the garlic and broil until charred, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover and set aside about 5 minutes. Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds and toast, shaking the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Squeeze the garlic from its skin onto a cutting board. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt; mince and mash the garlic into a paste with a large knife. Peel the roasted peppers and slice into strips; transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic paste and drizzle with the olive oil. Finely grate about 1 teaspoon lemon zest into the bowl and squeeze in all of the lemon juice. Add the bocconcini, basil, almonds, pasta, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; toss.
• Photographs by Antonis Achilleos

BAKED GOAT CHEESE PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add the tomatoes, garlic, shallot, oregano and red pepper flakes to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss to combine. Nestle the goat cheese in the dish among the other ingredients and drizzle with the last tablespoon of olive oil. Bake until the tomatoes have blistered and the goat cheese has melted slightly, 22 to 25 minutes.
• While the tomatoes and goat cheese bake, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water, and set aside.
• Remove the tomatoes and goat cheese from the oven. Add the pesto and begin tossing everything together, breaking up the goat cheese as you go and adding a little pasta water, until you have a creamy consistency. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Serve hot garnished with the fresh basil.

GRILLED LEMON-PEPPER CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Roll lemons and limes on a cutting board to release the juices; cut in half and squeeze 1/2 of the juice onto chicken breasts. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the lemon-pepper seasoning, and let marinate for about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Toss lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onions together in a large salad bowl.
• Turn marinated chicken over and sprinkle other side with remaining lemon-pepper seasoning.
• Cook chicken on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the centers and juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
• Cut chicken into long strips and place on salad. Squeeze remaining lemon and lime juice on salad at the last minute before serving.

LEMONY FARRO PASTA SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE AND MINT

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add farro and bay leaves and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add orzo to the pot and continue to simmer until farro and pasta are cooked through but still al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes longer.
• While farro is cooking, prepare the dressing: Finely grate zest from the lemons, and place zest in a large bowl. Squeeze juice from 1 1/2 lemons and add to zest along with salt, pepper and red-pepper flakes, whisking to combine. Gradually whisk in oil. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice from the other lemon half, or both, if needed.
• Drain farro-pasta mixture, discarding bay leaves. Add to bowl with dressing and toss well. Stir in apricots. Let farro and pasta cool, soaking up the dressing. This can be done up to 1 day in advance. Store in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before proceeding.
• In a small bowl, combine onions, celery, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and a large pinch of salt. Let sit while the pasta cools, at least 20 minutes.
• Just before serving, add onion mixture and almonds to the bowl with the farro and pasta and toss well. Gently fold in spinach, goat cheese, mint and parsley. Taste and add more lemon, red-pepper flakes or salt if needed.
• Drizzle with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper before serving.

GRILLED CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients. Cut each chicken breast into four strips; add to marinade mixture. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. , Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces; set aside. , In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, olives and fettuccine. In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad; toss to coat. Top with chicken.

LEMON-PEPPER CHICKEN PASTA

Steps:

• Saute chicken strips in olive oil, lemon juice, lemon-pepper seasoning, and garlic in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink in the centers and juices run clear, 7 to 10 minutes.
• While chicken cooks, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bow-tie pasta at a boil, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• Toss cooked pasta with chicken, sauce from the skillet, and green onion. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges.

LEMON-GARLIC PASTA SALAD WITH GRILLED CHORIZO

Steps:

• Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. About 1 minute before the pasta is done, take about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid out of the pan before you drain the pasta. Reserve this liquid.
• Meanwhile, chop the garlic cloves with the coarse salt and smash it into a paste. (This takes away any strong burn of raw garlic.) Mix the garlic with the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, tomatoes, pepper and oregano.
• Toss the hot pasta into the lemon-garlic sauce. As you toss the pasta through, add some of the cooking liquid little by little until it forms a sauce, you probably won't need all of the pasta water. Mix in the cheese. Taste for seasoning, add a bit more salt and pepper if you think it needs it.
• Slice the cooked sausage into bit size pieces and mix it into the pasta. Let the pasta sit covered for 5 minutes to let the flavors mingle.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

CHICKEN PASTA SALAD WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER DRESSING

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli for last 3 minutes of cooking. Rinse with cold water; drain.
• In small bowl, mix Alfredo sauce, bell peppers and salt. In large bowl, mix pasta, broccoli, chicken and corn. Add pepper mixture to pasta mixture; toss until coated. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until serving.