Hemenway's Seafood Pasta Salad (Recipe)

Ingredients

6 ounces tri-colored rotini pasta (2 1/2 cups)

12 ounces seafood including small peeled shrimp, lump crabmeat and/or cooked bay scallops

1 cup broccoli flowerets

1 tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons sliced pitted ripe olives

Dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 clove garlic. minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1 small bay leaf

2 to 3 cups mixed greens

Steps

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Drain again.

2. In a large bowl, toss together the shrimp, crabmeat and/or scallops with the cooked pasta.  Add the broccoli, tomato, onion and olives; toss.

3. To make the dressing: In a screw-top jar, combine the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, sugar, thyme, oregano, basil and bay leaf.  Cover and shake well to combine.

4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove the bay leaf.  Serve the pasta salad over the mixed greens.

Tips:

To make broccoli flowerets, cut off the flower part from the stems and cut in half any flowers that are larger than bite size.

To cook fresh seafood: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.  Add the shellfish and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer the shrimp and/or scallops for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and the scallops are opaque and firm.  Simmer the fresh crabmeat for 25 minutes.

Rotini is also known as corkscrew pasta.  In tri-colored pasta, a portion of the pasta is made in the usual manner, while some is flavored and colored with spinach and some with tomato.

When shopping for broccoli, look for firm stalks with deep green or purplish green, tightly packed heads.  Store broccoli in a plastic bag in the refrigerator up to 4 days.

If fresh herbs are available, substitute 3/4 teaspoon each for the dried thyme, oregano and basil in this recipe.

For a potluck or other large gathering this recipe can be doubled easily.

From : America's Best-Loved Community Recipes