12/15/2023 0 Comments Soften aldente noodlesI suggested that he add fresh veggies to pep it up, sometimes he did. (Not thawed, not cooked)īottled dressing of choice, poured on to taste. One 8 oz bag of pasta of choice, cooked al dente.ġ large bag of frozen veggies of choice - any combo. He also needed recipes that were quick and had a lot of volume, since he was tall and needed FOOD at lunch, He was not a vegetarian, but he really watched his diet, health wise. He was a really cute young single guy who lived with his sister and brought his own lunch to work. I also want to share a “recipe” I developed years ago which I conveyed to a guy at work who adopted it and named it after me. Well anyway –) Next time I make the usual kind will keep your formula in mind. (I always get my dressing on side in restaurants and usually use very small amount - surprising wait staff who expects those who want on side want to really pour it on. Pasta Salad can be so good or so blah - I personally like lighter dressing than many folks, but there is such a difference in tastes. However, I usually add peppers and I always add some kind of cheese, which somehow did not make the picture! I usually use feta, but feel free to add whatever is your favorite. I am particularly fond of the above ingredients for my pasta salad. My favorites to use are basil or cilantro. Finally, and this is just a suggestion because they are not always readily available, but I highly recommend adding fresh herbs.This is a good starting point, and you can adjust to suit your taste buds. See, math does come in handy sometimes! The pasta and veggies will soak up some of the dressing, so if you make this the night before, you may need to add a little more dressing the next day. Even when I make a large batch for a cook-out or party, I stick with my ratios. My rule of thumb is 4:4:1 – 4 cups cooked pasta, 4 cups veggies/add-ins, 1 cup dressing. Third, the dressing…everyone has their favorite and how much they like, but too much or too little can turn your perfect pasta salad into a “ehhh, it’s okay” pasta salad.By add-ins, I am talking about not only vegetables, but also cheese, meats (pepperoni, ham, chicken), etc. My other ingredients that I use less of because of the strong flavor, such as onions and peppers, are chopped smaller. I like to chop my main veggies fairly uniform (“bite” size), like cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, etc. Second, and this is where I often went wrong, you need equal amounts of pasta to vegetables/add-ins.This will prevent the pasta from getting too mushy/soggy because the pasta will soak up some of the dressing as it sits. First tip, it’s important to cook your pasta al dente (it should say on the box how many minutes this is, I like to use rotini pasta and it’s usually 7 minutes).After much trial and error, I have come up with what I think is the Perfect Pasta Salad! However, for years…I just couldn’t get it right. It’s also so versatile, that you can add just about anything to it. It makes a great side, and if you are like me, you can make a meal out of it. Pasta salad is a great dish to bring to a party, family get-together or for summer entertaining.
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