Salad Fusili, Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) & Tomatoes

Once or twice during the weekdays, I cook extras so there are leftovers for weekend dinners, sparing myself some time during the weekends - to rest.

If you cook extras as leftovers, how often do you do that? I am amazed by those who cook their meals fresh every day, three meals per day, seven days a week!

In some cases, I also prepare extras of a base sauce - store as leftovers so that when it comes to save-me-some-time weekday dinner, what we can do is just: heat up the sauce, toss in pasta and add in fresh veggies (raw or gently blanched, depending on the type of vegetable) to freshen up the meal.


A warm fusili salad tossed with leftover "puttanesca sauce and gently blanched Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) can be put together in minutes, for example.

If you wish to use Gai Lan in such a dish, a good preparation tip is to blanch the Gai Lan, then thinly slice (or make thin shavings of) the blanched stems and leaves before tossing them into the salad.


This Warm Fusili Salad with Chinese Broccoli and Tomatoes is such a quickie to prepare. There are many other ingredients (including a sauce) to add - and layer the flavors. But not every pasta needs a sauce, right? Especially in spring when temperatures are still mildly cool, a warm and light pasta salad that is fuss-free to prepare can be very welcoming.
Warm Fusili Salad with Chinese Broccoli & Tomatoes
Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a pan and saute some thin slices of garlic. Add in tomatoes and cook them lightly. Add in cooked pasta, 1-2tbsp of sauce (Note: optional and can be omitted if there is no prepared sauce whatsoever) and give the mixture a good toss so that the garlic oil coat the pasta evenly. Add in blanched Gai Lan and mix well. Pinch of sea salt and ground pepper to taste.

Sharing with with Souper Sunday and Hearth and Soul.

Tag: chinese broccoli, pasta salad

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