One of the sides that I made for a Memorial Day weekend BBQ side was Trofie Caprese Salad. This family whom I work for as a personal chef in Wheaton, is all still staying at home and being safe. Their philosophy is to make their home a sanctuary, still celebrate and live well! Fortunately for me, for them that does not mean spending hours in the kitchen. They thought they would do a casual family bbq this weekend, but they didn’t want the same old same old side dishes. But there was a caveat; one of the kids loves pasta salads, but doesn’t like “weird” food! (If he had his way, he would eat noodles at every meal!) I thought this caprese trofie pasta side dish fit the bill. It’s familiar, but a little different than usual. Trofie pasta is one of my favorite shapes; it’s a short twisted pasta. Everyone has had pasta salads, some that are just godawful and oily from the grocery store. Those really leave a bad taste in your mouth, literally and figuratively. This trofie pasta makes this salad a little elevated and unexpected. It couldn’t have been easier to throw together. I boiled the trofie pasta in salted water (LOTS of sea salt. It should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to flavor the pasta so using plenty of sea salt in this step is crucial!) Drain, toss with extra virgin olive oil and a little sea salt. Throw in some grape or cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella ciliegine. If you can find the little pearl fresh mozzarella balls, that’s even better. Toss in some freshly torn basil at the end. This is great for lunch or as a side for a bbq. I made a giant batch, so they can pick on this in the refrigerator in the coming days! If your personal chef is going to make a pasta salad, it definitely needs to be a very good one!
