Guacamole Pasta Salad

  The other night, I was so excited to make this dish inspired by a recipe I found on Pinterest: Creamed Avocado and Lime Chilled Pasta.  But, when I got started, my dish quickly transformed into something entirely different.  I thought it would be so nice to create this simple, elegant Asian inspired dish, but when I first tasted it, I couldn't help but think that it tasted like guacamole!?!  Maybe that is not so surprising, considering the recipe consists of cilantro, avocado, and lime.  So, here is what my final product looked like and my recipe for it is below.

 

Guacamole Pasta Salad (makes 2 servings)

• 2 cups of baby shell pasta
• 1 avocado, cubed and mushed
• 1 lime, juice and zest
• 1 heaping tbsp of mayo (can be subbed or omitted to make this dish vegan)
• Bunch of cilantro, chopped (whatever is to your liking)
• 1c of lentils, precooked* (for added protein)
• A couple sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (or fresh tomatoes)
• Seasonings: salt/pepper/cumin
• Garnish: chopped jalapeño bits
• (I think this dish would also be good with onions and evoo {extra virgin olive oil}, but I didn't add it this time.)

1. First, cook up the pasta in some boiling, salted, and oiled water.  Check your pasta packaging for cooking times.  I cooked mine about 5-7m.  
2. While the pasta is cooking, chop up the avocado, juice the lime, etc.  I mushed mine up like a real guac and only went with 1 tbsp of mayo, b/c I didn't want it to overpower the deliciousness of the avocado.  If you want, you could even make a big batch of guac and save some for later before adding the mayo.
3. Lastly, strain the pasta and mix it all up.  This pasta salad is easily doubled, good chilled or room-temp.  

Enjoy!

*Note:  I've started cooking up big batches of beans and storing them in 1 cup containers in the freezer for easy additions to meals.  You could also use canned or cook up some dried, though that will take a little more prep time.  I usually cook 1 cup of dry lentils w/ 3c of water for 30m with the lid cracked (makes around 2.5-3c of beans cooked).  And adding a bay leaf to the beans always adds a nice flavor as well.