blue cheese & olive pasta salad

My Mother is the Queen of pasta salads. Literally. She has enough pasta salads in her arsenal to get through the whole summer without repeats. Many of them are worth repeating however, so she’ll find a way to squeeze them in.

As a child, I remember being fond of some, like chicken curry pasta salad, and not so fond of others, presumably this one as I hated both blue cheese and olives at that young stage of life. Now I’ll take the blue cheese & olive combo anyway - fried, in a salad, a martini or preferably all three at the same time.

I’m finally starting to understand the great meal that is the pasta salad. Easy to throw together, tastes even better the next day and no oven required. Just thinking about pasta salads reminds me of summer dinners as a kid, eating on the porch. While I rarely eat on my balcony these days, I may just serve up a bowl of this and head out to the sun for a summer lunch worth dreaming about.

Blue Cheese & Olive Pasta Salad - 6-8 servings

• 2 cups farfalle pasta (I used Barilla PLUS)
• 6 oz can of black olives, halved
• 2 cups green grapes, halved
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 4 oz blue cheese crumbled
• 1/3 cup light mayonnaise
• juice of one lemon
• salt & pepper

Cook pasta as directed. Set aside in large bowl and let cool.

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt & pepper until smooth in small bowl. When pasta is cool, add other ingredients and dressing to bowl. Toss to combine.

Refrigerate overnight if possible. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Related posts:

1. greek pasta salad
2. cherry chicken pasta salad
3. fried shallots & blue cheese salad
4. artichoke ravioli pasta salad
5. spring vegetable pasta