Pasta salads are my go to in the summer time. I cannot swallow meats, so I add beans to my pasta salads. I make quite a few versions. The basic ones that I make most:
A "Greek" one:
Cooked pasta
Chickpeas or small white beans
Kalamata Olives
Feta
Cucumber
(Grape tomatoes if you like. I can't.)
Chopped fresh dill
Chopped flat leaf parsley
A little diced red onion if you like
Tiny bit of garlic
A lemon & olive oil dressing
A "Southwest" one:
Cooked Pasta
Black beans
Diced green pepper
(Jalapeño if you like, I can't)
Queso fresco cheese
Diced avocado
Diced tomato
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped green onion
If I could swallow corn, I would put freshly grilled corn kernels in there, but since I cannot, I make a dressing with the corn. Roasted or grilled Corn and Cumin salad dressing. When I whiz up the dressing, I put the corn in there and blend. Corn taste, but no swallowing issue for me.
An Italian one:
Cooked pasta
Cannellini beans
Diced roasted red peppers
Tiny fresh mozzarella balls
Olives
Diced red onion
Chopped flat leaf parsley
Chopped oregano
Roasted garlic
Diced artichoke hearts. Since I cannot swallow them, I make a balsamic & artichoke heart dressing.
Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad:
In the summer I do the salad from the items we grow in the garden. Roasted zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, red onion, and sometimes, fennel. We also grow fresh herbs, so I will switch up and add, fresh basil, or tarragon, or flat leaf parsley, depending on what I feel like.
Winter, I like roasted root veggies like butternut squash or acorn squash, beets, carrots... With a little goat cheese and fresh rosemary I grow.
