A spicy Italian-style pasta salad made with a homemade pasta sauce made with red pepper, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes!
This recipe is courtesy of Crazy for Crust and Sutter Home.
Ingredients
- 1 pound rotini pasta
- 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella or parmesan cheese
- 1 medium-sized shallot, sliced
- 7-ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1-2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Preparation
- 1 Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain well and rinse with cold water. Let cool.
- 2 Add the pasta, tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella, and shallot to a serving bowl.
- 3 Make the dressing: add the sun-dried tomatoes (with their oil) to a food processor or blender. Add the garlic, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pulse until sun-dried tomatoes are finely chopped, then run the food processor or blender while adding the olive oil. Run until a thick sauce forms. Taste, then add more pepper flakes and/or salt to taste.
- 4 Toss pasta with sauce.
- 5 Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- 6 Pair with chilled sweet wines such as Sutter Home White Zinfandel, Moscato and Pink Moscato.
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