Mint-Basil Chicken Pasta Salad
Submitted By:
{HWTM} Cookin' Canuck -
Ingredients:
1 lb shaped pasta (such as penne)
3 cups rotisserie chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
10 stalks asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp honey
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
To make the vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. While whisking with one hand, slowly pour in the extra-virgin olive oil with the other hand.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add 1 lb of your choice of pasta to the water. Cook according to package instructions, drain, and rinse with cold water. To blanch the asparagus, you can boil a separate pot of water. My favorite trick is to throw the asparagus in with the boiling pasta during the last minute of cooking. Drain the asparagus with the pasta.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, asparagus, tomatoes, mint and basil. Gently toss with the vinaigrette. Serve.
