Merri's Perfect Pasta Salad

My Aunt Merri is the funnest lady. She is sassy and sophisticated, but so very down to earth and loving at the same time. She reminds me so much of my great granny, it's ridiculous and delightful.

Many moons ago, Merri and her family visited us in California. It was at this point that I realized what a very good cook she was. Of course before this, I was too young to really understand her culinary genius, but wow, she really blew me away with this dish. I believe I would have been around 10 or 12 at this time? She made this pasta salad for us and it is hands down my favorite pasta salad of ALL time!!! I have made it for baby showers, company picnics, weddings (more than one), rehearsal dinners, birthday parties, Fourth of July BBQ's....I don't' think there is any occasion where this salad isn't completely appropriate and devoured by everyone. I also make sure to always take a copy of the recipe because people will HOUND you for it..and it's so very simple.

This salad serves well as both a main dish or a side dish, and it stores well, so make sure you make plenty of it. You'll thank yourself later!

Ingredients:

1 pound of bow tie pasta 1 pound of thick ham or smoked turkey, cubed (I use a ham steak) 1 head of broccoli, broken into bite size florets 1 bag of fresh spinach 1 small container grape or cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup of pine nuts 1 large tub of fresh basil 1 cup of balsamic vinegar 1 cup of olive oil 1 Tbl garlic Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place the pasta in a large pot of boiling water and cook until al dente or as per instructions on packaging, drain and place in a large covered bowl. 2. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and pour over the warm pasta noodles. 3. Place the pasta in the refrigerator overnight, this gives the pasta time to absorb all of the dressing. 4. Remove the pasta from the refrigerator and place the rinsed and drained spinach into the bowl along with the pasta. 5. Place a medium sized pot on the stove and bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, dump the broccoli in it and stir gently for 1-2 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the boiling water and plunge it into ice water to stop the cooking. Alternately, I dump the broccoli into a colander and just spray it with cold water from the faucet for a few minutes to stop the cooking. This only works if your water is very cool out of the faucet. The key is to not overcook the broccoli, as it should remain crunchy. As soon as it's cooled, add this to your pasta mixture. 6. Cut your ham or turkey into cubes and as well 7. Roughly chop or tear the basil and add it as well 8. Add grape tomatoes, you can cut them in half if they're large, or if you use cherry ones. I sometimes cut them in quarters depending on size. 9. And last but not least, place your pine nuts in a medium saute pan and place over medium high heat. gently stur the pine nuts until they begin to get golden and fragrant on all sides. Once they're evenly toasted, immediately dump into the pasta salad and stir the whole thing to combine well.

*Cooks Notes:

- I have adjusted the dressing quantities according to my mom's comments below. She is right, I generally add extra dressing as well.

- I have made this salad with both balsamic and white wine vinegar. I like it both ways, but prefer balsamic.

- I have added many vegetables over the years, just to be interesting, but my favorite addition is blanched asparagus. Treat it just like the broccoli, delicious!

- The only things that are critical not to substitute in this recipe are the Pine nuts, dressing and basil. Other than that, feel free to get creative!

- The bow tie pasta is the best shape for this salad, but it can be hard to find at times. If you have to substitute, I think Penne would be best.