View Full Version : Pasta salad ideas wanted
Dh and I are providing dinner for 30-40 people in a few weeks. A long-term customer has passed and her family has asked us to host the memorial dinner.
The menu is as follows:
BBQ pork ribs
Baked chicken
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Fresh steamed broccoli
Dinner rolls
small salad bar with standard tossed salad fixings
vegetarian baked beans
chocolate pudding (for some reason, this woman loved our pudding!)
cold pasta salad (vegetarian)
There are 2-3 vegetarians in the group. The one gentleman I know really likes cheese.
Typically I would make a pasta salad with an Italian dressing, steamed broccoli, chunks of mozarella cheese, pepperoni and I bit of parmesan. This is a simple but always well recieved dish.
Since putting meat in the salad isn't an option, and broccoli is the requested veggie, I was wondering the best way to tweak this recipe. I know there is a ton of great cooks out there. Anyone want to make some recommendations? I need it to have some eye appeal as well as taste outstanding.
Would olives work in this salad for a splash of color? Black or green?
treehugger
7-6-12, 12:52pm
I love pasta salad with a vinaigrette instead of mayo, just like you are planning on. What works well with that is diced zucchini or cucumber, red bell pepper, and garbanzo beans. Olives would also be good, but personally, I prefer a kalamata type to "regular" canned black ones. Beans and/or olives make it a substantial vegetarian dish and the zucchini or cucumber and bell pepper would stand in nicely for the broccoli you usually add. Oh, some red or green onion is also a nice addition.
Kara
Roasted veggies are a nice touch in salads - roasted zucchini or eggplant, for instance. No oil needed, or just brush very lightly, before roasting (or grilling).
Black or kalamata olives or capers would add a saltiness that might be missing from the pepperoni.
I love bell pepper in mixed salads for the flavor and crunch. Also, green onions for the onion flavor without the bite.
Bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots would be my additions. But I can also get on board with the garbanzo beans and red or green onions.
Seems everywhere I go lately they want me to make a pasta salad.
I don't know that it's anything super special or anything or maybe it's just that they don't want to make one.
Anyway...
colorful veggie pasta
sliced black olives
pimento
thinly sliced and chopped red onion
pepper (red/orange/yellow/green)
cherry tomatoes halved
hard salami or pepperoni
a good white cheese
italian (newman's light) dressing
a little sugar
last time I added some roasted red pepper, corn, black beans and baby spinach.
Its always different - depending on what I find digging around in the fridge and pantry, I always chill the pasta first with a little of the dressing before adding everything else. I'll usually make the pasta the night before, chill over night and then mix everything else in the next morning.
Float on, can you tell me why you chill the pasta first? Does that help with flavor absorption?
Tiam, I think it keeps the pasta from getting soggy. I've always chilled pasta as soon as it's done cooking to stop the cooking process.
It may not make a difference but that is just the way I've always done it.
Blackdog Lin
7-6-12, 8:16pm
For an Italian pasta salad, I would use:
- steamed asparagus, as a substitute for the broccoli
- red or green onions
- cherry tomatoes, cut in half or whole if small enough
- frozen peas (thawed by throwing in at the end of steaming the asparagus)
- your cheese of choice chunks
- either black or green olives would be good
- and your absolute favorite Italian dressing or vinagrette, whatever it may be.
My only tip for excellent pasta salad is to dress it very lightly when making it, to keep everything from sticking together, then having dressing on hand to re-dress it just before serving. The pasta seems to absorb too much dressing ahead of time; it's not terribly flavorful and needs more dressing for serving.
And a healthy sprinkle of parmesan cheese too, just before serving!
I made this pasta salad for Memorial Day and it went over really well. It is a BIG salad, fyi. I ended up foisting it off on coworkers to get it out of the house...
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/fourth-of-july-week-sundried-tomato-pasta-salad/
I like the idea of making a dish of pepperoni or salami chunks available for those who like a hearty pasta salad (and some extra protein). I think fondly of a salad I used to get for lunch at a little deli that had a soft white cheese, briny olives, scallions, salami, a bit of green pepper, and penne in a garlicky vinaigrette.
I made one last weekend that was new to me...rice noodles cooked/rinsed/toss with a little oil and chilled
next day added cut shrimp, cucumbers, shredded carrots
then tossed with sweet thai chilli sauce, fresh cilantro, oil, and rice wine vinegar, bit of lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Very fresh and yummy......
My favourite is a greek pasta salad pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and feta then toss with a greek dressing.
I made this pasta salad for Memorial Day and it went over really well. It is a BIG salad, fyi. I ended up foisting it off on coworkers to get it out of the house...
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/fourth-of-july-week-sundried-tomato-pasta-salad/
Now that looks fabulous! Sun dried tomatoes as a dressing sounds very good!
small & friendly
7-7-12, 10:42pm
It must be something in the air. Made this a couple days ago:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8155/7515665318_8f016ef7ae_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22940162@N04/7515665318/)
pasta salad 001 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22940162@N04/7515665318/) by sock shot (http://www.flickr.com/people/22940162@N04/), on Flickr
The dressing was olive oil and white vinegar, Mrs. Dash's no salt seasoning, some dried herbs and a pinch of sugar. You could omit the salami and cheese.
Artichoke hearts are another good add-in option.
I used to get this salad from Whole Foods all the time. I got this recipe from their website a couple of years ago. They took it down at some point; I guess they realized everyone could make it cheaper than buying it from them. It's delicious even with the mayo dressing, which I don't usually like. Whenever I've had it in the store, the spinach has been wilted, although the recipe doesn't say to do so. I've made it a couple of times and always wilt the greens. I think I used more spinach, too. I may have made other changes, but I haven't had it in a long time, so I can't remember at this point. The smoked mozzarella is key, but tweak as necessary. Now I want some! I think it would go very well with the steamed broccoli on the side.
The Parmesan Dressing:
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 and 1/2 tsp.)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
The Salad:
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 cups packed baby spinach, washed and stemmed
2 small jarred roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 pound smoked mozzarella cheese, diced
Parm Dressing:
Combine the Parmesan cheese, parsley, mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper with a hand mixer or in the bowl of food processor or in a blender until the dressing is smooth.
Salad:
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain the pasta into a colander, run cold water over it or submerge it in ice water until chilled through, and drain well. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, spinach, roasted red peppers, and smoked mozzarella.
Tussiemussies
7-8-12, 2:31pm
I like to make a pasta salad as though I am making an antipasto platter minus the meat and lettuce. It would include:
Black olives
Finely chopped red onion
Chopped tomato
Roasted red peppers sliced
Sun-dried tomatoes sliced thinly
Roasted green peppers (which you would have to roast yourself
Small cubed provolone cheese
Small cubed mozzarella cheese
Mild good seasons Italian dressing to dress it... You buy it in a packet and add oil vinegar and water, it would be the perfect dressing!
Getting hungry just thinking about it. I would also use the bow-tie pasta -- it's easier to grab on the fork!
Have fun!
Hi everyone! Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm going to go over them again on wed. and decide what combination sounds best for my group of guests. Sorry I haven't responded sooner-we've been so busy I haven't even been on-line!
I have used this recipe for years:
Cook one pound more or less of the tricolor twisty pasta.
Throw in a big big pan and also throw in:
Bag of frozen broccoli or chopped fresh if you want.
Drained can of kidney beans or whatever bean you like. You can even cook them from scratch.
Cubes of Mozzarella cheese. I like this kind because it stands up to the dressing better. Do not use shredded cheese.
Chopped walnuts, as much as is interesting. Dont chop too finely but leave in bigger pieces.
The dressing I make in a jar so I can shake it. I am all for easy. I use approx. 1/2 cup of oil, 1/2 cup of mixed vinegar. I like balsamic but it can be a bit strong without some other kind of vinegar with it. I use whatever I have on hand.
Add some finely chopped, vidalia preferably, onion and some minced garlic, a couple of cloves (I like onion a lot but it is to taste). Oregano about 1t., salt same, something sweet like sugar or noncalorie sweetner(one package or two), pepper. Taste and add more of whatever is missing. This is almost no fail since it is a fairly small amount of dressing for quantity of salad. Shake well and pour over salad. Mix. Chill until brocoli is thawed. If the pasta is hot, this does not take long.
I could eat this for days.
treehugger
7-10-12, 12:40pm
So many of the recipes here include sugar, which surprises me, and also explains why I am so picky about pasta salad. I don't mean that I am anti-sugar, since I love sweets. I have just never cared for a sweet taste in otherwise savory foods. So, now I know why I prefer to make pasta salad to bring to a gathering instead of eating what someone else has brought.
Kara
In many cuisines, sugar is just one flavor to balance the overall taste. We learned this in Thai cooking. Palm sugar is in even very savory type dishes to balance the five flavors. I do find that I use much less sugar product than most American recipies call for. Once a Chinese cabbage salad called for 1/2 cup of sugar and I dont use any. In my granola, I only use some maple syrup and doubled the recipe but kept the same amount of the maple syrup. The original recipe added a lot of brown sugar.
ApatheticNoMore
7-10-12, 2:28pm
Sugar started out historically in the west being used as a spice and in spice quantities rather than dessert quantities. Ha, I'd still have to be careful with the stuff as it would likely prompt overeating to the food it was added to even as a spice. Thus I tend to leave sugar out of savory recipes that call for it. It's enough I eat chocolate , the ocassional pastry, and sometimes honey just by itself. Yea, I'll probalby always be a little addicted, I don't need to start adding it to real foods.
Thanks again for all the ideas. I love pasta salad myself and will definitely have to try some of these combinations out on the family over the next several months.
Where would I get greek dressing? Is it in the supermarkets along with everything else or would I have to make it> Dh probably knows how to-we used to work in a greek diner together.
The parmesan dressing sounds really good too.
I think the addition of some red pepper and black olives for color seems nice. The pepper would just be chopped and raw right? I don't eat bell peppers so I'm not sure of myself here. I know roasted peppers are also an option but I'm afraid they might be too watery to hold up for the amount of time necessary.
Adding beans would be something I would personally enjoy but since were having baked beans as another vegetarian option I don't think its the right addition this time.
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