Spring Pasta and Shrimp Salad with Lemon Basil vinaigrette and Blue Cheese Crumbles

Weeknight dinner doesn’t have to be complicated.  Right?  After having too much pasta dinner the nights before and had some cooked pasta left, light refreshing pasta salad is just a perfect idea.   Honestly, it’s just my excuse when I’m too lazy to cook.  Nahh… I just want a break. That’s all.  

This salad is basically just opening the can of garbanzo beans, cutting some vegetables, using frozen salad shrimp, and tossing in leftover pasta.  Done!  The dressing is too easy to call it a recipe when it’s nothing into it but the sense of your own taste plus the feeling of hunger for some good food.  The blue cheese is, however, a highlight of this refreshing salad.  It gives the salad a sharp tangy flavor that help lifting the dish up to another level.   Be careful though because you wouldn’t be able to stop eating it. 

The dressing

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp. EV olive oil

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tbsp. finely minced basil leaves

A pinch of dried red chili flakes

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

: Whisk all the ingredients until the honey is dissolved and set it aside.

The Salad:  4 servings

2 cups cooked bow tie pasta

1 cup cooked salad shrimp

1 medium Persian cucumber, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 medium Roma tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 can Garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup red onion, finely sliced

3-4 small sweet peppers, seeded and finely cut crosswise

1/4 cup blue cheese

1. In a large bowl, add everything, except blue cheese, pour the dressing over, and mix well

2. Let all the favor mingle by chill the salad in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or longer

3. Sprinkle the blue cheese crumbles just before serving