I suppose a pasta salad isn’t the most traditional side dish for a Roast Chicken Dinner but I just wanted to have some carbs involved because, of course, the garlic mashed potatoes I made weren’t enough 😬. In all fairness it is a type of “Salad” so I think it’s okay and it tasted great as a side. And listen, you can eat it whenever you want! You don’t need to have it as a side, go ahead and have it for lunch or brunch or dinner, you can even have it for breakfast! You decide when you want to eat your food! Also, side note, we had a real salad with leafy greens involved in our Roast Dinner so I think that makes up for everything. Well, now that that’s been cleared up should I explain what a traditional American Pasta salad is? I think I will. For those who do not know Pasta Salad is simply what it sounds like a form of pasta, traditionally Elbow Macaroni (but you can use what you like), mixed with a variety of vegetables and usually coated in a dressing of sorts with a base of mayonnaise. At least, that’s how I made mine. Very traditional this way, but there are all sorts of ways to dress up a Pasta Salad and with time I can share some other ways I like to do it. But for now, here’s my recipe for a traditional American Pasta Salad. It’s quick, easy, and absolutely delicious. Let’s get started, shall we?
Ingredients:
- 1 pound box of Pasta
- salt, for pasta water
- oil, to drizzle
- 1 and 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 1-2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 teaspoons mustard
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 medium sized tomato, diced
- 1 large bell pepper, diced
Directions:
First things first, let’s boil some pasta. I opted for Elbow Macaroni because gotta follow tradition. But like I mentioned before, cook what you like. Want something more fancy? Go for bow tie, such formal. Looking for something edgy? I think Penne has what you need. How about something daring? Well, maybe Fusilli is the one for you…not to be mistaken for it’s equally spiraling cousin, Rotini. Did I just learn the difference between Fusilli and Rotini? Yes, yes I did. Did I also just look up a list of “short pasta” to write this monologue?
Now, that we’ve established the many varieties of pasta you can use for this let’s move forward. Simply cook your pasta according to your box’s directions. Once it’s cooked I like to drain and then drizzle with some oil, regular or olive oil, and then giving it a toss just to keep it from sticking while I prepare the other ingredients. Then in a separate bowl or your serving bowl (just to save some dish cleaning time) you can start by adding in the mayonnaise, mustard, black pepper, and vinegar. Mixed that all up and then add in the chopped vegetables.
Give this all a thorough mix and lastly add in your cooked pasta. Sometimes I will sprinkle a little more black pepper and salt on top to make sure it’s everywhere but that’s up to you. And as always you can adjust to your taste, if you want a little bit more of a tang you can add more mustard. If you want a little more mayonnaise, that’s your prerogative. Let this sit in the fridge for at least half an hour to let all the flavors infuse into the pasta and vegetables. I will say though, that when you first mix the pasta it may seem like a lot of mayo (or not, depending on how much you like mayo), but some of it will get absorbed while it sits in the fridge. That’s called flavor flave infusion. This is a good thing. You can let it sit for as long as you need. Once it’s done resting you are ready to plate it up!
Well that’s the end of this recipe, but first I wanted to share this tiny little bell pepper I found inside of my big bell pepper.
It’s so tinyyyy. For scale, the large bell pepper is in the corner. Anyways, I did end up using that in the pasta salad, perhaps it made it special. Not everyone will find a baby bell pepper, but don’t worry yours will still taste amazing! Side side note: have some fun with colors, I just had green bell peppers so that’s what I used but I think the red, orange, or yellow ones would really pop. Just food for thought. Anyways, thank you for joining me on another exciting segment of Sana Writing About Food. Feel free to join me again, next week! It’s going to be a fun time!!
Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound box of Pasta, (Elbow Macaroni)
- salt for pasta water
- olive oil to drizzle
- 1½ cups mayonnaise
- 1-2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 teaspoons mustard of your choice
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 medium sized tomato diced
- 1 large bell pepper diced
Instructions
- Boil pasta according to directions on box.
- Drain and drizzle with olive oil and then give a pasta a mix.
- In serving bowl add in mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, and black pepper. Give this a thorough mix to combine.
- Add in chopped vegetables and mix completely in dressing.
- Add pasta on top and combine with dressing. Mix thoroughly, making sure all the pasta has been coated.
- Let it chill in fridge for at least half an hour. Keep in fridge until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
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