Friday, June 4, 2010

Honey Lemon Pasta Salad

Fresh Market Copy-cat Honey Lemon Pasta Salad

About a month ago I was out of town for work.  It was late evening and I was wondering what to have for dinner.  Sure I could have had Olive Garden, TGI Fridays or some other chain restaurant dinner, but instead I decided to explore The Fresh Market grocery store I noticed while driving around.  The Fresh Market was new to me, we don't have one where I live, but WOW do I love that store!  I roamed all around the isles admiring the beautiful bakery items, bulk snack mixes, bulk candies and fresh salads. 

Since I was trying to be relatively healthy, I decided on a turkey sandwich made with a delicious whole grain bread, green bean chips, a small container of honey lemon pasta salad and a bran muffin for dessert.  I took my bag of goodies back to my hotel, changed into my pj's and had a picnic in my room while I watched the Real Housewives of somewhere on television.  The pasta salad was so light and fresh tasting, I knew I had to try to recreate it when I got home.  I searched The Fresh Market website, but of course no recipe, but my version came out pretty darn close.  Hope you like it too.

Honey Lemon Pasta Salad

Dressing:
2 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 T Honey
1 tsp. chopped thyme
1/ 2 C extra-virgin olive oil
fresh ground salt and pepper

In a small bowl whisk the lemon juice with the lemon zest, honey and thyme.
Whisk in the olive oil and season with fresh ground salt and pepper.

Pasta Salad:
Bowtie Pasta (I used 3/4 of a 1 lb. box)
1/3 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced roasted red pepper
1 can mandarin orange sections - drained
diced red onion
toasted sunflower seeds

Cook bowtie pasta, drain and set aside.
Add diced green pepper, diced roasted red pepper, mandarin oranges and chopped red onion.
Toss with honey lemon dressing and sprinkle with toasted sunflower seeds.  Enjoy!

21 comments:

  1. This sounds so yummy. Can not wait to try it!

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  2. I love that store, too. I'll have to look out for that salad, meanwhile I'll give yours a try.

    Happy Friday!
    ~ingrid

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  3. Love the fresh market too! I copied your salad recipe to give it a try.

    Joyce

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  4. I have to tell you, I live within walking distance of the Fresh Market in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL and I fell in love with this pasta. I just made it following your recipe and it turned out excellent!! I thank you and your pink mixer and my husband thanks you too!

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  5. I stumbled across your blog trying to do the exact same thing you did( Find a recipe for the the fresh market lemon bow tie pasta) im so glad i found yours. I just made it and its delish. very close if not better. thanks for posting it. it will definately be a favorite in my kitchen this summer

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  6. Just came across your blog doing a search for this pasta salad- it's been a couple of years since I've had it but as you can tell it's been on my mind! Thanks for sharing- hoping I can get to this soon!

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  7. Thank You! While I've always liked Fresh Market I don't ususally go for the prepared foods and last night I fell down on my mom duties and took the kids their to pick out what looked good to them and I ended up getting this pasta salad for myself and loved it too! Today I went looking for the recipe and here you were!! :) I also loved your picnic in the hotel room since I used to do that all the time when I travelled and I would have been watching BRAVO too! lol.

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  8. I bought the Fresh Market salad last week and fell in love with it so I searched on their site and could not fine the recipe. Went back to TFM today and bought some more so I decided to search again and now I've found your recipe. I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks.

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  9. OMG! I got this pasta salad on a whim because I thought it looked like something my 3 and 1 year old would eat. They did, but i loved it too! I googled in hopes of finding the recipe - i can't wait to try this myself! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. My FM adds pea pods.. it's delightful. They they stopped, ARGH! Then they stopped carrying it. So.. thanks for the recipe!

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  11. Followed this exactly and it just doesn’t taste right anyone else have this issue. It’s missing something or it has to much of something. Followed recipe exactly

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    Replies
    1. Did you toast the sunflower seeds? That gives it a great flavor. I added a hair more honey.
      Emily

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    2. I did not, but that's a great idea! I'll try it next time. Thanks for stopping by.

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  12. Can't wait to try this! I bought this pasta regularly when I lived in Atlanta and had Fresh Market near by. I now live in an area without Fresh Market and have really missed this pasta.

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  13. Glad to see your recipe. If you buy from Fresh Market a small container will cost about $8. I think I will make my own next time. I just wanted a break from cooking so worth it and now I have a new recipe! All good.

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  14. I made this favorite salad from your recipe. YOU did a great job figuring it out, it tasted just like it! The only thing I might do differently is double the dressing. After it sat for a while it became dry, I guess the pasta absorbed the dressing. I notice theirs always has a lot of dressing so I am going to give it a try. The taste was identical. Thank you for doing this!

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  15. I love the Fresh Market and adore tgis salad. Im eating it RIGHT NOW, but they don't always have it. So glad I found this recipe. Can't wait to try it!! Thanks

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