Pasta Salad

[Melinda]

Anyone have any ideas on nice dressings for pasta salad?

ATM I just mix up around 1 cup of whole egg mayonnaise and 2 tsp white vinegar and use as much of that as I need to coat the pasta. Then I add in spring onions, corn, capsicum and cooked bacon.....yummo. Anyone got some alternatives to the dressing or indeed the actual pasta salad?! Just looking for some variations.....

[dinky]

I cant help with the dressing, but I make a pasta salad with corn, capsicum, spring onions, pineapple pieces and champignons, its sooo yummy!! The pineapple adds a little zing to the dressing too.

[Melinda]

Yeah it would I guess! With the champions (just my little way of referring to those mushies LOL) do you use fresh ones or tinned ones?? I'm just wondering how well the fresh mushrooms keep in the pasta salad if you had it in your fridge for a day or two? I wonder if the tinned ones would be better?! Dunno....

[dinky]

I used tinned champignons, last much longer!

[Melinda]

Excellent - thanks dinky! I'll try adding those in too.

[Rouge]

Do you want creamy or a different type of sauce? I have LOTS of pasta salad recipes...

I love chicken pasta recipe with celery (only time I really like it) and cold shredded bbq... YUM! And a good egg mayo with a touch of seeded mustard... capsicum and corn...

*hugs*
Cailin

[sonya1]

500gm Penne pasta
2tspns olive oil
clove garlic
2 rashers bacon, finely sliced
1 bbq chicken ( i buy mine from supermarket deli)
1 red onion - cut into thin wedges
250gm punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
2 medium avocados - sliced
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
DRESSING
1 hard boiled egg - shelled
1/3 cup french dressing
1/2 cup mayo
salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
** Add pasta to large saucepan of boiling salted water, boil uncovered for about 12 mins or until tender. drain, rinse under cold water and drain well again.
** Heat oil in frying pan, add garlic and bacon and cook, stirring until bacon is crisp. Remove from pan.
** Remove chicken meat from bones and discard bones. shred chicken.
** To make the dressing, process all ingredients until pureed.
** Combine pasta, bacon, onion, tomatoes, avocadoes, parsley and chicken in large bowl. pour over dressing and stir gently until combined
** ENJOY !!!!!!!

This is may fave salad and doesnt last long at parties. it makes a large amount too! I use low fat dressing and mayo as well to lower the fat content.:biggrin:

[Rouge]

oooo thats good I'm going to steal that one

*hugs*
Cailin

[Trillian]

I use the recipe from the local cafe where I worked many moons ago

Creamy Pasta Salad
500g Elbow or spiral pasta
300ml cream
1 cup good mayo
stick celery
half red capsicum
1 carrot
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated tasty cheese
Mayo and cream extra

Method

• Boil the pasta until al-dente and drain into a large bowl
• while pasta is cooling, thinly slice celery, grate carrot, finely dice capsicum and chop parsley.
• place all ingredients into the bowl with the pasta and combine well. refrigerate and serve. If salad starts looking a bit 'dry' add more cream and mayo as needed.

[Melinda]

I'm after both creamy as well as other sorts Cai - so any kinds you have, please share!

I used to buy a pasta salad from a little cafe near my former workplace and that had a dressing on it which they called "summer tomato dressing". That was delicious! It had spring onion, celery, capsicum and the summer tomato dressing.......I'd die to know what was in it!!!

[*mitch*]

I have a super easy 2 min noodle salad recipe if you want me to post it... really yummy & soooo easy... (mind you it is not all that healthy LOL)....

[Melinda]

Go for it Mitch!

[*mitch*]

Super Easy 2 Min noodle Salad :biggrin:
(Nice warm or cold, I prefer cold).

2 Pkts 2 min noodles (any brand, any Flavour, I prefer Chicken)

Sauce
1/4c Vinegar (white is best)
1/4c oil
Tbs brown sugar
2 flavour sachets from noodles (or stock powder!)

Any veges you like & as many as you like..
I normally use red & green pepper
Frozen mixed veges
& cashew nuts

Cook 2 min noodles as per usual but leave out flavour sachets...

when noodles are cooked, drain & add veges (you can pre cook them if you want but I dont), then mix all together with the sauce & serve...

makes quite a bit but I always manage to eat the whole lot myself :eek:

Top off with plain cashews mmm mmm mmmmm

[Kirsty77]

Owww they all sound so yummy! I always add a bit of sour cream to the mayo to give it a creamier taste.

[Fraser]

I'm not a big fan of creamy salad dressings on pasta (a throw back to when I first moved out of home and there was a jar of mayo, pasta and egg involved and now I have to count to 10 when I think about it or I'll hurl) anyway I digress.

I now put vinagrettes on my pasta salad - I am always searching for new vinegars I haven't used before - my mum put some raspberry vinegar in my christmas stocking this year and that has been a hit (although not if there is tomato in the salad - big faux pas - wont do that again......)

I normally just mix 1 part vinegar - 1 part oil - 1 part lemon juice and then if the vinegar isn't flavoured, say it's just red wine or white wine vinegar then I add herbs like tarragon or sage with sea salt and cracked black pepper. It needs to sit for a couple of hours (or days) before use

I made a nice pasta, pea and fetta salad the other day with a mint vinagrette on it - very nice!

[Melinda]

I was hoping someone would mention something about vinegar-type dressings actually Em.

What do you think is best in terms of the flavoured vinegar - white or red wine vinegar?

Do you think that kind of dressig would go well on the kind of basic pasta salad I mentioned in my first post?

[Fraser]

yeah absolutely - maybe cut out the bacon - but it would still go well.

I like red wine vinegar better than white wine - it's a little less tart if that makes sense - but the flavoured vinegars are a different thing entirely - they are diffused with things like chilli or garlic kind of like how you can get flavoured olive oils

[Melinda]

Yeah ok - where would I get hold of flavoured vinegars? I imagine there wouldn't be too much choice at the local Coles?! LOL I think a garlic one would be pretty darn nice...

I wonder what ends up being more fattening - the creamier dressing with whole egg mayo and vinegar, or the vinegar-style dressing with the oil in it.......food for thought (quite literally LOL).