Memorial Day BBQ Pasta-Pairings Recipes

For your Memorial Day BBQ, treat your guests to healthy and delicious summery dishes with pasta recipes from Pasta Fits. These recipes feature colorful veggies, fresh summer seafood, and lightweight zesty sauces for a light and refreshing pairing to your hamburgers and hot dogs.

Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Grilled Veggies

 Ingredients:

• 4 oz. ziti
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil for brushing
• 1 (6 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 8 oz. romaine hearts, halved lengthwise
• 8 oz./½ bunch asparagus, trimmed of tough stems
• ½ tsp. lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. grated garlic 

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.  Cook the ziti according to package directions.  Drain and reserve.
2. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over high heat.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and a little of the oil. Place the chicken on the grill and cook for 3 – 4 minutes per side or until cooked through.  Reserve.  
3. Brush the romaine and the asparagus with the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper.   Place the romaine and asparagus on the grill.  The romaine will start to char on the outside, turn to allow all sides to get a little char, about 3 minutes total. Remove from the grill and reserve.  The asparagus will turn bright green and have grill marks when it’s ready, also about 3 minutes.  
4. Remove from grill and reserve.  When the chicken, romaine and asparagus are cool enough to handle, chop the chicken into bite-sized chunks, roughly chop the romaine, and slice the asparagus into 2” pieces. Reserve.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Place the chicken, romaine, asparagus and ziti in a bowl and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. 

Warm Lobster and Shells Salad

 Ingredients:

• 2 (1 ½ lb.) lobsters
• 4 oz. medium shells
• 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. grainy Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup/4 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1cup/4 oz./1 ea. endive, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup/¼ oz. shredded basil 

Directions:

1. Bring 2 large pots of salted water to a boil. In one, place the lobsters and cook 10 minutes. Plunge lobsters into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
2. In the other pot, cook the shells according to package directions. Drain and reserve.
3. While these are cooking, make the vinaigrette. Whisk the vinegar, mustard, and garlic together. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Reserve.
4. Remove the meat from the lobster. Crack the claws and knuckles and extract the meat. Remove the cartilaginous piece in the claw. Pull the tail of the body of the lobster. Place it on its side and press on it to crack the interior of the shell. It should then be easy to pull it apart and extract the meat. Take all the meat and roughly chop it into bite-sized pieces. Reserve lobster meat. You should have about 8 oz.
5. Heat a large sauté pan over low heat. Add the vinaigrette, cherry tomatoes and endive. Toss to coat and warm through. Add the lobster meat and pasta. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the basil. Divide between 4 bowls.

Farmer’s Market Pasta Salad

 Ingredients:

• 8 ounces fusilli pasta
• ½ bunch radishes, thinly sliced
• 4 small heirloom carrots, scrubbed (don’t peel), thinly sliced
• 1 bunch thin asparagus, trimmed, sliced in 1 ½-inch pieces
• 1 small summer squash (yellow, green, silver)
• ½ red or white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper (purple, red, yellow, orange, green), thinly sliced
• 2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (orange, yellow, green, red)
• ½ bunch baby arugula (about 2 cups)
• ½ cup pinenuts
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

For vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Place pasta in boiling water and cook until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, prepare vegetables and place carrots, asparagus, summer squash, onion, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. When pasta is done cooking (to al dente stage), drain, and place hot pasta on top of the fresh vegetables to tenderize them slightly. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over pasta salad mixture.
5. Toss in arugula, pinenuts, and fresh basil. Chill until serving time.

Recipes courtesy of Pasta Fits. Visit www.pastafits.org for full recipes.