Shrimp, Bacon, Avocado Pasta Salad

You know summer has arrived in Sacramento when it’s 11:00 at night and it’s 85°F outside! We had our first over 100° day of the season yesterday, prompting the wisest of the city’s population to stay huddled indoors next to an AC vent. (That would be me.) Even my mother drove the half block it takes to get to my house from hers when she stopped by to visit. (She gets a pass, she’s 80.)

What to make/eat on a hot day? This pasta salad. It has two of my favorite food groups—avocado & bacon—which basically taste great with anything, and especially with chipotle marinated shrimp.

The zesty lime vinaigrette dressing ties everything together.

Pro tip on pasta salads: add more vinegar than you would expect. A typical vinaigrette ratio is 2:1 or 3:1 oil to acid. This salad’s vinaigrette is more like 2:3. Some of that acid is to counteract the richness of the avocado and bacon. Some of it is just because pasta salads do better with more vinegar. It brightens the flavor.

 

Shrimp, Bacon, Avocado Pasta Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound dry fusilli pasta
• 1/2 pound of peeled, deveined raw shrimp
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more salt for the pasta water)
• 3-4 thick-cut slices of bacon (about 3 ounces), sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/3 cup diced red onion
• 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup diced yellow bell pepper
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced, including the green onion greens
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup (packed) roughly chopped cilantro

Dressing:

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar (can sub apple cider vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

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