Recipe: Summer Fruit Pasta Salad

I love the farmers' market, especially during the summer, when the abundance of fruit is hard to resist. So hard to resist, in fact, that I often end up buying far more than my kids and I can eat out of hand before they start to disintegrate in the fruit bowl. So I'm always looking for ways to integrate summer fruit into savory dishes. Today's pasta salad does just that. The lonely nectarine, the rest of your grapes, add some spicy arugula, walnuts and salty cheese and you have a side dish or simple lunch that's sweet, salty, tangy and tasty. 

Summer Fruit Pasta Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Walnuts
1 cup walnuts 
1 tablespoon honey
Pinch of salt 
Pinch of cayenne or chili powder (optional) 

Citrus Vinaigrette
1 orange 
1 lemon 
1/2 tablespoon salt 
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 
2 tablespoons honey 

1/3 cup olive oil 

Salad
3 cups arugula 
1 1/2 cups seedless grapes, halved
1 nectarine, thinly sliced 
1/2 cup ricotta salata
1/2 Meyer lemon
1/2 pound Semolina Artisanal Pasta Rigatoni 

 

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Drizzle walnuts with honey and sprinkle with salt and chile powder. Bake for 10 minutes. 

While the nuts are cooling, combine all of the citrus juices through the honey for the vinaigrette and whisk in olive oil until emulsified. 

Cook 1/2 pound of pasta in boiling, heavily salted water. Drain, drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking and allow to cool completely. 

Peel and cut the Meyer lemon into supremes and then slice into small, bite size pieces. 
Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl including the ricotta salata, cooled walnuts and cooled pasta. Drizzle in the vinaigrette and toss until everything is coated.