Southwestern Pasta Salad with Roasted Pepper Chipotle Sauce

Pin It

First food post in a long time! I got tired of eating boxed frozen meals and takeout, so I decided to try cooking for a change. Imagine that. It's simple, healthy and fast. I think this makes a very good side dish (or main, if you've only got so much time on hand to cook like me).

You'll need:

• 3 chipotles in adobe sauce, roughly chopped
• juice from 1 lime
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 pound of pasta, cooked according to package instructions and cooled to room temp
• 1 15-ounce can of corn, drained
• 2 medium Roma tomatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste

Begin by roasting red bell pepper whole over open flame until skin is completely charred on all sides. If you don't have a source of fire, you can broil on high for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Place bell pepper into a bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside for 15 minutes. Remove bell pepper and rub off charred skin. Remove stem and seeds. Rough chop. Blend together roasted pepper with chopped chipotles, lime juice, olive oil and 1 tablespoon of water. The resulting sauce should be relatively smooth. If not, add more water. Season with salt.

Toss pasta together with sauce, corn, chopped tomatoes, cilantro and green onion. Serve cold or at room temp.