This is the trick for the perfect pasta salad
Pasta salad; now that the weather is getting warmer, we can hardly avoid writing about it, but to be honest, we’re always a little afraid that a soggy, wet, limp pasta salad with rancid mayonnaise dressing will suddenly appear in front of us. Still, it’s not difficult to make a pasta salad that isn’t gross; you may just need to rethink the basic steps if your pasta salad is the only dish left at the picnic, BBQ party or end-of-year party at the primary school…
For example, leave out the wet tomato pieces, or make sure you only add small cherry tomatoes (whole). You shouldn’t mix in delicate salad leaves such as arugula or lamb’s lettuce too early either, because they’ll become so sad and limp. Those are already a few handy tips, and read this for a truly delicious pasta salad recipe or make the one below!
How to make a truly delicious pasta salad
Cook a ‘short’ type of pasta (so no long strands like spaghetti, because that’s not so easy to eat from a paper plate in the park) until tender and rinse under cold water (yes, you’re allowed to do that just this once). Now mix chopped, firm raw vegetables into the pasta, but don’t overdo it with too many different kinds.
Celery is great, and so is fennel; if you can find unusual purple or yellow carrots, they’ll make the dish visually appealing. Mix in some well-drained, cooked legumes such as butter beans or chickpeas. Then vary things with some less familiar products from an Asian or Turkish shop, for example, or other delicatessen stores.
Look further afield
So first browse the shelves at Asian grocery stores or delicatessens and look for unusual ready-made items in jars, such as Italian lampascioni (small pickled flower bulbs), Turkish pickled green peppers or Chinese shallot pickles. They’re all special additions to a perfectly good basic pasta salad, and even at the supermarket you can probably find something like marinated artichoke hearts or grilled vegetables in the Italian section if there isn’t a specialist shop nearby. Let your imagination run wild!
Also read:
- These are the 5 mistakes you shouldn’t make if you want a delicious pasta salad
- Orzo: the ideal cross between pasta and rice
- You’ll want this: a savory, spicy noodle salad that stays delicious for ages
