Fabulous Pasta Salad
We have a pot luck dinner to attend tonight... Actually, they're calling it a "covered dish," but I digress. The entree is barbecue, and we were asked to bring a salad...to feed 40 people. Never fear, the best pasta salad in the world is here.
How gorgeous is this?
I first encountered this delicious dish at a baby shower when we were living in Enid, Oklahoma, and my friend, Lauren, was gracious enough to share the recipe. Since then, it has become my go-to recipe for baby showers, bridal showers, pot-lucks, picnics — you name it — and people always ask me for the recipe. It is beautiful, colorful, and absolutely delicious. It can easily be divided to feed your family, or it can be multiplied to feed a crowd. It can (and should) be made ahead, so it's perfect for parties, and the leftovers keep well for several days.
First, get a big pot of water boiling, salt the water, and cook your pasta as directed until al dente - "to the tooth," meaning you don't want to let it get anywhere close to mushy. I've made this salad with linguini, which is lovely, but a little tricky to wrangle onto the fork. Rotini is standard pasta salad fare, but I like to choose something a little less predictable. Bowties (farfalle) work well, but my new favorite is campanelle, which I used today. Meanwhile, wash and start chopping your veggies. I love to have a wide variety of colors, flavors, and textures in this salad, and so I use about a pint of cherry tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters (depending on the size of the tomatoes); one cucumber, only partly peeled to leave some traces of green, sliced thin, and then cut into quarters; about half of a red onion, cut in half and sliced thin; and one bell pepper, yellow or orange to add more color (this time I used one of each because I doubled the recipe), diced.
Drop the veggies in a large bowl, and add half a bottle of Italian dressing. Then add half a bottle of McCormick Salad Supreme and stir. I also like to add a little freshly-ground black pepper.
Once your pasta has cooked, drain well, and add to the veggie mixture. Do not worry about cooling the pasta - a little heat won't hurt anything, and I think it may actually help to meld the flavors. Cover and refrigerate overnight - or if you're serving this at dinnertime, you can get away with making it in the morning and refrigerating it all day. (If you're short on fridge space, you might transfer to a gallon-size zip-lock baggie or two.) Just before serving, stir in the remaining half bottle of Italian dressing.
Fabulous Pasta Salad
1 lb. pasta (Try campanelle, linguini, farfalle, or rotini.)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 cucumber, sliced and quartered
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 bottle of Italian salad dressing (Save half the bottle for just before serving.)
1/2 bottle McCormick Salad Supreme
black pepper, to taste
Cook pasta as directed on packaging.
Mix vegetables with half bottle of Italian dressing, McCormick Salad Supreme, and black pepper.
Toss veggie mixture with cooked pasta.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Just before serving, stir in remaining half bottle of Italian Dressing.
Enjoy!
