Anyone have a good pasta salad recipe?

sarahb5, Sep 19, 8:44am
I really don't have a recipe but to still warm pasta I add:

Fried chorizo slices including the oil
Feta cheese
Black olives
Capsicum
Capers
Halved cherry tomatoes
Grated zucchini
Splash of balsamic vinegar

sooseque, Sep 19, 8:52am
This is an old 'Food in a Minute' one from Allyson Gofton
4 cups of your favourite pasta shapes
boiling salted water
500 gram bag Watties Frozen Chuckwagon corn
3 - 4 Tblsp olive oil
juice 1 lemon
100 grams salami finely chopped
200 grams marinated feta finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs
salt & pepper to season
Cook pasta in boiling salted water for 10 - 12 minutes until al dente, drain well. Microwave the corn on high power for 4 minutes, stirring halfway through, (alternatively toss the veges in the hot saucepan for 4 - 5 min. until they are just cooked). In a bowl mix together pasta, vegetables, oil, lemon juice, salami feta cheese, herbs, salt and pepper and toss to mix. Serve warm or cold. Variations: use 200 grams diced cheddar or mozzarella instead of feta, use 100 grams shredded ham, chicken or cold meat instead of salami. I have made this a few times to the original recipe and it is nice

sooseque, Sep 19, 9:01am
Curried Pasta Salad
Salad can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, keep covered in fridge.
1 cup pasta – small sea shell shapes are nice
1 red pepper chopped
1 green pepper chopped
2 TBLSP chopped fresh chives
100g baby mushrooms chopped
Dressing:
2 tsp curry powder
1 TBLSP castor sugar
½ cup oil
¼ cup white vinegar
1 TBLSP cream
Cook pasta, drain well, place into large bowl with peppers, chives & mushrooms. Combine curry powder and sugar in small bowl, gradually stir in oil, vinegar and cream. Mix through salad.

roys351, Sep 19, 9:44am
just cook your pasta add cooked smoked chicken fried onion and mushroom, garlic olive oil, parsly, dill and salt and pepper to taste. If you want you can add tomatoe, capsican, chilli, what ever you want
experiment to your own budget and taste, ive eaten pasta with olive oil and loads of pamersan cheese and it was ok

cookessentials, Sep 19, 9:35pm
Pasta Salad just increase the amounts of ingredients you need to make a larger salad.
Fry two large chopped onions in a little olive oil,add about 1 cup red pepper from a jar,1 cup sliced button mushrooms -add some of the liquid from the jar of peppers to keep moist. In a lge pan of salted water, add two packets of spiral tri-colour pasta and cook till al dente'-drain in colander and rinse well. When drained,place in lge bowl.
Pour hot onion mixture into pasta and slice in half about half a cup of stuffed green olives and the same of black pitted olives. Make a dressing with plum sauce (delmaine is best),red wine or balsamic vinegar, olive oil and caster sugar to taste. Stir well and pour over sald. Mix through thoroughly. In a non stick pan-add about 1/2 cup pine nuts and gently toast till golden. Pour over sald and mix through. Just add more of the above ingredients to your own taste if required.

carlosjackal, Sep 19, 10:06pm
This one has to be the easiest pasta salad recipe that I know of and every person I've served it to just raves about how good it is. Here goes:

Pasta
Olive oil
Beer Sticks x 4 - sliced thinly
Spring onion x 6 - sliced/chopped thinly
Thousand Island dressing

Cook Pasta in water with salt and olive oil added. Drain pasta. Add chopped spring onion and sliced beer sticks. Add Thousand Island dressing and mix well.

Pasta salad DONE!

macandrosie, Sep 21, 8:17am
Well risoni is classed as a pasta I believe & this recipe is from my sister-in-law & the family always enjoy it! Nice served at room temperature.

Orzo, Sun Dried Tomato & Hazelnut Salad
Dressing:
2 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup toasted hazelnuts
¼ cup tightly packed Italian parsley leaves (could try basil)
2 tabs white wine vinegar
¼ cup oil
1 tab brown sugar
Place all ingreds into a processor & blend until it forms a paste.
8-10 sundried tomato pieces
¼ cup black olives, halved
1 cup orzo pasta
70gr feta, crumbled
¼ cup toasted hazelnuts whole
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
Cook orzo then drain, rinse & set aside to cool. Place orzo pasta, tomatoes, olives, hazelnuts & feta into a bowl. Add dressing & fold through lightly to combine. Just before serving sprinkle over chopped hazelnuts, rock salt & freshly ground pepper.

jmori, Sep 22, 3:48am
Risoni
Pesto
Red onion
squeeze lemon juice
feta cheese
Roasted pumpkin seeds

Mix all together.except the roasted pumpkin seeds (sprinkle them on top).this is very nice and so easy!

peterbk, Sep 22, 3:57am
Summer Pasta Salad(an old Annabel Langbein recipe) that is a standby in our house. Very popular.

500 gmsPasta Penne

Dressing
2 large cloves garlic
1 tsp coarse mustard
2 tbsp parmesan cheese grated
8-10 leaves of fresh basil ( can also use mint and parsley)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ cup light salad oil ( rice bran is good)
2 tbsp wine vinegar

Salad
1 red pepper diced finely
2 spring onions or red onion finely diced
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflowers seeds
Optional capers, olives, tomato, corn, celery, peas

Method
Boil the pasta according to packet directions , until only just tender.
While pasta cooks make the dressing by pureeing all the ingredients until smooth.
Drain the cooked pasta and put in a salad bowl.
Toss the dressing through the pasta as soon as it is cooked and drained. Must be real hot.
Allow to cool and then toss through the rest of the ingredients.
Serves 8-10
enjoy Jacqueline

aktow, Nov 26, 2:56pm
my pasta salad is yummy,,,place cooked pasta in a bowl,.,, add sliced raw mushrooms,,a can of pink salmon, add wedged tomato's, chopped spring onions, optional sliced capsicums,,season with lots of salt and pepper, add either american type mayonnaise, or a thick egg mayonnaise and mix together,

aktow, Nov 26, 3:01pm
my favourite pasta salad i add to cooked pasta,cheese sauce, bacon, tomato.,, onions,chopped spring onions and a little chopped parsley. lots of salt and pepper,,finally i add mayonnaise and mix together.

bridget107, Nov 26, 9:26pm
This one is amazing and always gets a few raving reviews :-) http://aftertasteblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/soya-sauce-and-roasted-peanut-pasta-salad/

bev00, Dec 4, 9:42am
An orzo salad is so yummy. Cook your orzo, add cucumber, cherry tomatoes cut in half, red onion, capsicums and pesto. Sundried tomatoes added to this is also really good. never lasts long when I make this.

Quotemam67 (45 )4:30 pm, Mon 5 Dec #2
My favourite pasta salad comes from Annabel Langbein's fabulous book: Great Food for Busy Lives: Boil 500g pasta shapes. While pasta is cooking, make dressing by pureeing together: 1/2 cup light salad oil, 2tbsp white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup grated parmesan, 2tbls basil pesto, 2 cloves garlic, 1tsp Dijon mustard, 1tsp salt and black pepper. Drain cooked pasta, place in bowl and add dressing. Cool. Mix in 2 sliced spring onions, 2 stalks finely sliced celery, 2 diced peppers, red is nice. Add 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts if you wish. Enjoy.

Quotedindys (40 )5:04 pm, Mon 5 Dec #3
I make the Orzo all the time.
Cook and cool 1/2 packet of Orzo
add 1 container of mediterranean chunky dip basil pesto (cashew and parmesan)
200 grams cook bacon
1/2 packet of crumbled feta
1 small red onion ( I like to cook it slightly)
cherry tomatoes cut in half
and then anything you want to add.
baby spinach leaves

Quotetinkagirl (51 )8:32 pm, Mon 5 Dec #6

carlosjackal, Dec 4, 10:52am
This is a Pasta Salad made with only 4 ingredients. I couldn't count the number of times I have made this or of the wonderful comments I have received about it over the years.

It is super quick and easy and my "go to" recipe if I have to make something to take to a barbeque - in a hurry (and sometimes even when I'm not in a hurry). I just guage the amount of each ingredient and add more or less according to taste. Here goes:

Beer Stick Pasta Salad:

1. Pasta - eg. Penne, Fusilli, Ditalini, Rigatoni, Conchiglie, Farfalloni or similar - I use San Remo spirals (spinach, tomato and plain mixed)
2. Spring onion - about 6-8 finely chopped
3. Beer Sticks - Sliced thinly (or Kransky or Chorizo but Beer sticks are better to use in this recipe as they are firm).
4. Thousand Island Dressing

Cook Pasta in salted water until el dente, drain and toss through chopped spring onions and sliced beer sticks

Add Thousand Island Dressing and gently mix through.

Do not refrigerate before taking to BBQ - just cover the bowl with cling film and allow the flavours to meld/develop.

This is so yummy that I've never wanted to "play" around with it and change anything - I've always opted to make an entirely different pasta salad than change this one in any way. As they say: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" or "why change a good thing"

People who have tasted it are stunned in disbelief when I tell them how few ingredients there are to it. Many of our friends (and family) have replicated this recipe for years now. It is seriously THAT good!

Note: I should probably edit it to 5 ingredients as I omitted to say that I usually add some good quality Olive Oil to the salty water for an extra layer of flavour, also the Dressing is easier to fold through if the pasta is slippery. (If that makes sense!).

carlosjackal, Dec 4, 10:59am
I took this Pasta Salad (above - post # 17) to a BBQ on Sunday evening and my husband and I could overhear other guests oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over it! .and wondering who made the Pasta salad! I took an enormous bowl of it along and it was completely "polished" off! Everyone LOVED it!