Chicken Pasta Salad with Saskatoon Berries
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
3 cups pasta (shells, rotini, penne)
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup pea pods
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 cup fresh Saskatoon berries
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2-3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
to taste salt and pepper
Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Cook pasta. About one minute before it finishes cooking, add the pea pods. Drain and rinse with cold water. To a large bowl, add pasta and pea pods along with the remaining salad ingredients, except the parmesan cheese.
Whisk together dressing ingredients. Toss salad with dressing, cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight to allow flavours to blend. Before serving, toss with parmesan cheese.
Saskatoon bushes grow wild on many prairie farms and the berry is similar in flavour to a blueberry. If Saskatoons aren't available use blueberries.
TIP:
A quick way to get cooked chicken is to buy a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store. A 3lb/1.5kg rotisserie chicken provides 2 1/2 - 3 cups of boneless, skinless meat.
