Lemon Pasta Salad

For the 4th of July (this post is super late) I was asked to make a pasta salad,  Last year I made an Italian dressing based pasta salad and since I would be cooking for the same crowd I wanted to try something different.  I had come across a lemon pasta salad recipe by Jamie Krell a while ago and thought it looked delicious, so when the picnic on the 4th rolled around I figure it would be just the dish.

 

Lemon Pasta Salad

 

Ingredients

1 pound pasta

(I used tri-color veggie pasta)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup chicken broth

2-3 lemons (juice and zest)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

3/4 - 1 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese (grated)

1/2 - 1 bag of baby arugula

1 pint grape tomatoes (halved)

1, 10 oz package of frozen peas

 

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package, drain and set aside ~ in a medium saucepan saute the garlic in olive oil over medium heat ~ once the garlic is fragrant add the heavy cream, lemon juice, lemon zest (I juiced and zested my lemons ahead of time), chicken broth and salt/pepper ~ bring the mixture to a boil then lower heat and allow to simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes (the sauce will reduce and start to thicken) ~ once the sauce is thickened allow to cool then in a large bowl combine the sauce with the pasta ~ add the peas, arugula and tomatoes and stir ~ finally all the cheese, combine and serve chilled

 

(Note - best to refrigerate over night and serve the following day)

Lemon pasta salad!

 

The pasta salad was a BIG hit at the picnic and many people asked for the recipe.  I really enjoyed it not only because it was creamy and lemony (both of which I enjoy) but it was also very different from the typical mayonnaise or Italian dressing based pasta salad.