Bacon, lettuce, tomato pasta salad
I have a friend who dislikes pasta salad. She said that pasta isn’t meant to be eaten cold. Whenever we had pasta salad in our menu she wouldn’t touch it especially when there’s mayonnaise in the salad. I, on the other hand, love pasta salad. I didn’t grow up eating mayo-based pasta salad and I joined the crowd once I started making it. In my opinion, pasta salad is a complete meal in which you can have your protein, carbohydrate and vegetables in one bowl. One of the pasta salads that I love to make is bacon, lettuce, tomato pasta salad or BLT pasta salad. Here you have your bacon as your protein, pasta as your carbohydrate and lettuce and tomato as you vegetables. I don’t see anything wrong using mayonnaise in pasta salad as long as there’s a moderation in the amount that you’re using. Again, as with the Egg Salad Sandwiches that I just posted, the recipe was taken from The Big Book of Backyard Cooking by Betty Rosbottom. Her BLT pasta salad is simple and very light in mayonnaise, adding Parmesan cheese to give it a bite to the dressing. Now that summer is in full steam ahead, this dish would make you happy at lunch time!
I am sending this to the Presto Pasta Night #71 over at Gay’s.
BLT Pasta Salad
Serves 8
Salt
1 pound farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces bacon slices, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 cups (3 to 4 ounces) stemmed, coarsely chopped arugula
1 cup chopped red onion
Dressing
1/2 cup regular or reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Coarsely ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook according to package instructions, until al dente, then drain and transfer to a large, shallow nonreactive serving bowl. Toss pasta with olive oil and set aside.
In a large, heavy skillet set over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp and golden, then drain on paper towels. Add the bacon, tomatoes, arugula, and onion to bowl with pasta and mix well.
To make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, half of the Parmesan cheese, vinegar, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add to bowl with pasta and toss well to coat pasta with dressing. Add the remaining Parmesan cheese, and toss well to mix. Taste and season salad with more salt and pepper if needed. (Salad can be prepared 1 hour ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at cool room temperature.)
Source: from The Big Book of Backyard Cooking by Betty Rosbottom
I love BLT’s and then you add Pasta and Parmesan on top of that this looks great!
yes, Parmesan adds such a great flavor in almost every dish
Comment by Katie — July 7, 2008 @ 9:52 am
Eliza it looks beautiful…lovely..just lovely.
hey Cathy, thanks so much!
Comment by Noble Pig — July 7, 2008 @ 10:37 am
This salad looks yummy, but I would question the idea of bacon being a source of protein. In the world of registerd dietitians, bacon was always included in the “fat group” not the “protein group”
One slice of side bacon has 3 grams of protein and 4 grams of fat.
Have a glass of low fat milk with your salad to provide protein.
You can leave the bacon in~I love it too~just don’t consider it as a protein source.
oh, i’m sorry, my bad! how could i forget that… yes, i almost always think bacon as protein, i don’t eat that much of bacon, so forgive my relapse!
Comment by Sharon — July 7, 2008 @ 10:55 am
i’m not a huge fan of pasta salads either but a BLT version sounds really good! i’d imagine the parm adds an extra touch.
i know, people has their own dislikes…but BLT is always good
Comment by Becky — July 7, 2008 @ 10:56 am
I love your pasta recipe. You keep things simple but absolutely delicious. I am going to make it this weekend.
You might be interested in my site:
http://www.JustOnePlate.com
It has some incredible pasta recipes for pasta lovers.
My best,
Neil Kohan
Neil, thanks for your comment, i’d be sure to visit your blog in the future!
Comment by Neil Kohan — July 7, 2008 @ 12:15 pm
Liz…....ikutan foodie photography yuk buat celebrate 17 agustus. hayoh ikutan biar seru yah. add nya ada di blog ku.
ikutan yah biar seru say
okay deh…meluncur ke blog elo….
Comment by dwiana — July 7, 2008 @ 1:05 pm
I was just looking for the perfect recipe to take to an outdoor concert tonight. This looks amazing.. but really, anything with bacon has my name on it!
oh…everybody likes it when there’s bacon in a dish
Comment by GirlCanBake — July 7, 2008 @ 2:16 pm
Aw, your friend is wrong! Well, no, she’s right to say that “cold” pasta is a no-go; room temperature pasta on the other hand, can be just as good – often better – than warm.
Yours look absolutely delicious. Lettuce is underused as an ingredient, so it’s nice to see it removed from the sandwich for a while.
Great, great post!
hi Graeme…thanks for your nice comment. i do like this recipe where it incorporates lettuce as part of the main ingredients. just make eating a lot simpler
Comment by Graeme — July 7, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
Liz, aku harus toss sama temenmu. Pasta itu enaknya dimakan anget2. Kalo harus makan pasta salad, aku lebih milih pasta salad yg dressing-nya seger. Jadi tanpa mayonnaise, creme fráice atau sebangsanya. Kasian ya
Btw, aku lagi sok sibuk di rumah
. Lagi males banget blogging atau moto2. Mudah2an bad mood-nya cepet ilang deh.
gak lah…org2 kan suka2 makannya. boleh dong pilih2.
emang ya kalo udah sibuk dg satu hal, blogging itu ditaro di daftar paling buntut
kirain kemana…
Comment by Sheila — July 7, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
A bacon, lettuce and tomato pasta salad sounds good!
Comment by Kevin — July 7, 2008 @ 5:08 pm
That looks delicious, Eliza.
thanks Gay!
Comment by Gay — July 8, 2008 @ 1:13 am
Looks good! Love the photo, as usual!
thanks Pei Lin…
Comment by Mrs Ergül — July 8, 2008 @ 1:23 am
I don’t mind it cold but prefer it warm. This is definitely good for summer!
yeah…it’s nice for summer picnic!
Comment by tigerfish — July 8, 2008 @ 3:03 am
Anak-anakku niy seneng banget makan pasta selagi hangat-hangat, klo aku masih pilih mie/bihun goreng apa bakso ajahh
. Tapi fotonya asli bikin ngiler
betul, yg ini pasti gampang bikinnya, gampang makannya, gak repotin dapur
Comment by retno — July 8, 2008 @ 4:35 am
hello lady! I’ve passed you an award!
i’ve replied back in your blog!
Comment by Mrs Ergül — July 9, 2008 @ 12:12 am
pengennnn….duh aku tuh selalu kalo kesini pengen coba swemua resepnya apa daya…maless muluww
, asikk yang mau liburan 
hoho…kalo lagi males memang deh gak bisa ngapa2in
Comment by elsye — July 9, 2008 @ 12:24 am
Hi, I love pasta salad too! I agree that it’s a complete meal which is perfect for my lunch tiffin. I normally make them a week’s worth at a time so the flavours meld as the days go by. I’ll try your BLT sans mayo just because I like my pasta salad light. It looks great!
so would you change it with olive oil maybe?
Comment by V — July 9, 2008 @ 4:21 am
Now theres a balanced meal ! I prefer using low fat mayo, that way i dont feel guilty, or otherwise i find that substituting half the amt for yogurt also tastes wonderful. Give it a try sometime.
thanks Kajal… yes, i think yogurt would work great too!
Comment by kate — July 9, 2008 @ 6:23 am
I have never thought of adding lettuce to pasta salad – I’ll be trying this dish when the weather gets warmer here, Liz!
yeah, yeah, they’re good together!
Comment by Patricia Scarpin — July 11, 2008 @ 5:39 am
Pasta salads are not the first thing I think of for summer buffets and picnics…that said…yours looks delicious. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.
thanks for the wondeful event, Ruth!
Comment by Ruth — July 11, 2008 @ 3:12 pm
This looks absolutely delicious and fresh. I stumbled upon your blog and have been greatly enjoying it! I also took a peek at your other blog. My parents are both from Indonesia so I greatly miss that type of cooking!
Comment by sharon — July 25, 2008 @ 11:08 am