Green Bean & Whole Grain Penne Salad

By GadgetGirl

This salad is all about contrasts in flavor and texture: chewy, nutty pasta mingled with crisp, sweet green beans and strewn with bits of crunchy bacon and creamy Roquefort.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, stems trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
• 16 ounces whole-grain penne, rotini, rotelle, or fusilli pasta
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 pound Roquefort cheese
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons each finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and chives
• 5 crisply cooked thick slices bacon, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Salt

Details

Servings 16
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 20mins

Preparation

Step 1

Bring 2 large pots of salted water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice and cold water. In one pot, boil green beans 3 minutes; drain and plunge in ice water to stop cooking. In the other, cook pasta until tender to the bite, 9 to 12 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water until completely cool (see Notes).

In a food processor, pulse mayonnaise, Roquefort, and vinegar until well combined but still slightly chunky.

In a large bowl, toss together pasta, green beans, Roquefort dressing, parsley, chives, bacon, and pepper until pasta is well coated. Season with salt to taste.

Notes:

Ingredients can be prepped and pasta cooked a day ahead of time and chilled (add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the cooked pasta). Toss everything together just before serving. The dressing can be made ahead too; if it thickens, thin it with a little more vinegar or even milk.