First of all, I’m so sorry this post is coming up so late! After kind of a crazy (crazy good, crazy not-so-good) weekend, the universe decided it was not done with us and I have had a heck of a time getting this recipe up. Can we all still be friends?
So my friend Dani (like the same Dani who gave me the Chicken Pot Pie recipe, and the same Dani who gave me the Linguine with Turkey Meatballs recipe) sent me this recipe a few weeks ago and I couldn’t WAIT to try it because I’ve seriously never tried a recipe she’s given me that I didn’t absolutely love. It’s such a unique twist on pasta salad, gourmet but easy, elegant but potluck or weeknight-worthy. Plus the dressing would be fabulous just to have hanging around in my fridge). The thing that surprised me most was that my favorite part was the plums; I like the idea of plums, but in reality, they’re usually too tart or mushy for me, but when they were roasted and paired with the savory ingredients of the pasta salad, especially the cheese, they were so incredibly delicious.
To make the salad part, you’ll need 1 pound of bowtie pasta, 1 pound of plums (not too ripe), 4 ounces crumbled blue cheese (feta, if blue cheese gives you the heebie jeebies), 1 pound of chopped rotisserie chicken, and chopped fresh basil, chives, and flat-leaf parsley.
Cook the pasta al dente. While the pasta is cooking, heat a cast iron pan (or a pan that is not non-stick if you don’t have a cast-iron pan) over medium-high heat. If the pan you’re using is oven-safe, heat the oven to 400. Cut the plums in half and discard the pit. Place them in a bowl
and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Gently toss to coat and then place the plums, flesh-side down, onto the hot pan. Sear until you get a nice, brown “crust” or grill marks, depending on the kind of pan you’re using.
If your pan is oven-safe, place it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Otherwise, turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the burner and the plums in the pan for 5-10 minutes so they can continue to soften slightly. When done cooking, place the plums in the refrigerator (or even the freezer) to cool down.
Chop the herbs
and place the cooked pasta, crumbled cheese, chopped herbs, and chopped chicken in a large bowl.
Toss to combine.
For the dressing, you’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, coarse-grain or Dijon mustard (whatever you prefer), and salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk together the ingredients and drizzle it over the salad. Toss to combine. Add the chilled plums and chill until ready to serve. This will make about 8-10 main dish servings or a whole bunch of smaller side-dish servings.
Pasta Salad with Roasted Chicken and Plums
Recipe shared with Our Best Bites from Dani Vest
Ingredients:
1 lb. bowtie pasta, cooked al dente and chilled
1 lb. plums, halved and pitted
1 pound cold rotisserie chicken (I just used the breast), chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese (or feta)
1 handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 handful fresh basil, chopped
1 bunch chives, chopped
Dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon coarse brown, Dijon, or honey Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Place the halved plums in a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper and gently toss to evenly coat. Heat a cast iron (if you don’t have a cast iron pan, a stainless steel pan will work) pan over high heat. Place the plums, flesh side down, onto the pan and cook until browned. If desired, you can place the pan into an oven heated to 400 to continue to soften the plums. Otherwise, remove from heat and leave in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a plate or bowl and chill until ready to use.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, herbs, blue cheese, and chicken. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and drizzle them over the pasta mixture and toss evenly to coat. Remove the plums from the refrigerator and slice. Very gently fold them into the salad or just leave them on top. Chill until ready to serve. Makes 8-10 main dish servings and a lot of side dish servings
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I do not see a Pin it button – I presume its ok if I pin it manually? I want to make sure there isn’t a reason :)
Yes, you are welcome to pin any of our recipes Annie!
Thanks! Its the easiest way for me to keep all my recipes together! And after I pin ANYTHING OBB I always get about 500 re pins :)
So excited to try this! I’ve been looking for some good recipes with plums. I bought a package last week and wanted to try them in recipes, not just as snack fruit and not just in dessert. Thanks!
This looks so yummy, and fresh, and summery. I really love grilled fruit- and more-so in savory dishes, than sweet!
Not a fan of bleu cheese – any suggested substitutes??
How about crumbled feta?
Would it work to marinate chicken breasts in the dressing and then just grill the chicken and plums on skewers?? Just cuz I’m super excited about the grill worthy weather we are having in Utah right now :-)
Thanks!!
Ooooh, good idea! Just double the dressing and use half of it for the marinade.
This looks really good! I can’t wait to make this summer for potlucks/parties!
Yum!! This looks so good, Kate! Will have to try it soon.
This looks so yummy!
Kate, this dish looks so delicious! What a fun combination of flavors, and I especially love your addition of plums. Great weeknight recipe!
Where do you find this mustard? I’ve been looking in Utah stores without luck. I want to try the burger recipe on your calendar and have just about decided to try it with just plain ol’ French’s mustard! lol
Well, I live in Creole country, so it’s everywhere I go. I’ve also seen it at places like World Market. HOWEVER, if you go to Walmart and get the store brand (Great Value) coarse brown mustard, it’s very, very similar.
Hope that helps!
This is an interesting pasta salad with the addition of grilled plums. But I love anything with blue cheese so I am sure I would love this!
Any suggestions to sub for the plums? There are a few in the house that are not fans of plums. Thanks….
I bet you could use figs here to. Either the same method of sauteing them or roasting them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Neat idea and very spring-like flavors!
I’ll skip the chicken because I’m veggie, but thank you for introducing plums to my pasta…sounds delicious! Will try!
I made this for dinner tonight (with feta instead of bleu cheese) and it is SO GOOD!!! My husband loved it so much he keeps randomly telling me how good dinner was! Thanks for the recipe.
Anyone else having trouble finding plums this time of year? I want to make this so badly but I couldn’t find plums at my grocery store today!
I was really wanting this to be fantastic, but to be honest, my plums came out really sour and fermented tasting. I caramelized them on a cast iron skillet, then softened them in the oven for a couple of minutes. Everyone at the table just picked them out of the salad. What did the grilled plums taste like for those who have tried this?
I agree with Belinda. This looked really good and I wanted it to be really good but it just wasn’t. This was the first recipe from here that I have not liked so I guess that’s not too bad!
I had a hard time with the plums, too. They were salty and mushy….yuck! I absolutely LOVE OBB and we pretty much make one of your recipes every night of the week so we’re just chalking this up as a fluke!! I think we might try making this again with fresh peaches instead, not roasted.
We had plum issues as well so when I served it I just used fresh plums instead and it was amazing! This is going to be my go-to salad for events from now on.