Recipes

Cold Pasta Salad

Cold pasta salad is a classic dish, great as a side, or as a main course; this dish is the perfect meal on a hot summers day.

Fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, celery, and green onions, as well as classic ingredients you always have at home. This pasta salad will become a go to recipe for you! Perfect for barbecues, gatherings, light snacks and full meals.

For a wine to compliment this delicious cold pasta dish, try a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc! A perfect balance of fruity notes, vibrant acidity and amazing balance. Best of all, it is an unbelievable wine for under $20!

Ingredients

1 Package of Favorite Shaped Pasta (Rotini, Macaroni, Farfalline, etc)
3-5 green onions, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1/2 – 1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoon white sugar
olive oil to coat pasta
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1-2 teaspoon Celery Seeds
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika (Spanish paprika works)
Juice from 1/2 lemon.

Preparations

First, in a large pot, cook pasta al dente, following packaging instructions.
Once cooked, drain the pasta, and rinse well under cold water. This ensures the pasta does not stick.
Next, chop all of your vegetables into roughly similar shapes, giving the desired texture to the pasta salad.
Once green and red peppers, celery, green onions and cherry tomatoes have been diced; mix into large bowl with the cooked pasta.
Pour desired amount of olive oil into the pasta/vegetable mixture, just enough to give most of the salad a nice sheen.
Furthermore, in a glass, dissolve sugar into the white wine vinegar and lemon juice mixture.
Afterwards, pour vinegar, lemon, sugar mixture over the pasta.
Top with celery seed, salt and black pepper (as desired), sweet smoked paprika and mix.
Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Serving Options For Pasta Salad

You can add feta cheese, or any crumbled cheese if desired. Beware of salt content, as you might not want to add salt to the salad if adding a salty cheese.

Furthermore, you can experiment with different vinegars, such as white wine or red wine vinegar, or add a splash of balsamic; if you have a favorite.

In the end, you can adapt the recipe any way you’d like. Add chopped grilled chicken to add protein, or beans instead!

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