It's very easy to make a good pasta salad, which is why it’s a shame that it happens so rarely. As the summer barbecue season kicks into high gear with the upcoming holiday, let’s look at what goes wrong with this dish and what we can do to make it right.
First, there is a conceptual problem. Most people still think of pasta salad as it was in the 1950s and even 1960s, as a replacement for potato salad and based on a similar template, with small chunks of carbohydrate and a few chopped vegetables held together by mayonnaise. “Fancy” versions often have pesto or a handful of dill tossed in.
The pasta shapes used for such salads tend to be fusilli, farfalle and penne, all of which are better suited to meat-based sauces that are served hot. The crevasses, tucks and twists are perfect for capturing bits of meat and other ingredients but not so good for the silken qualities we seek in salad. They are often undercooked, a quality accented when the pasta is served cold.
When we move away from mayonnaise and incompatible shapes of pasta, the possibilities open up. A delicate vinaigrette, some seasonal vegetables and room-temperature pastas make outstanding salads. They can be as simple as a bowl of spaghetti, rinsed under cool water and tossed with sliced cherry tomatoes and a spoonful of tapenade. On a hot night, a favorite meal is cool spaghettini with corn cut from the cob, minced garlic, a squeeze of lemon or splash of vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil and some basil flowers or snipped chives.
Pasta salads also can be complex, as today’s two recipes are. But complex does not necessarily mean complicated. Both of these are quite easy to make.
If you have leftovers, remember they must be brought to room temperature before you enjoy them. I think it's best to remove them from the refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes before serving.
“Cencioni” means little rag and it is a thickish, flat pasta, unevenly shaped with a slightly rough surface, to which ingredients cling. The most common brand in local stores is Mammarella, owned by Francis Coppola. This salad is excellent as part of a buffet. It's also wonderful as a bed for grilled sausages or grilled chicken thighs.
Summer Pasta Salad
Makes 4 to 6 Servings
3 red bell peppers, seeded, roasted and peeled (see Note below)
4 Roma tomatoes, roasted and peeled (see Note below)
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
⅓ cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise
6 ounces mozzarella fresca, drained and sliced
2 tablespoons best-quality red wine vinegar
Black pepper in a mill
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
8.8 ounces (1 package) cencioni, farfallone or farfalle
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon capers or brined green peppercorns, drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves
Tear the peppers into wide strips along their natural ribs and put them in a wide, shallow serving bowl. Break the tomatoes in half and add them to the peppers, along with the garlic, olives and mozzarella. Toss gently, pour the red wine vinegar over everything and season generously with black pepper. Set aside.
Fill a large pot two-thirds full with water, add the 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water boils, cook the pasta according to package directions until it is al dente, drain, rinse in cool water, drain again and add to the bowl with the vegetables and cheese. Turn very gently; add the olive oil, capers or peppercorns, parsley and oregano; taste and season with salt.
Taste the salad again. If it seems too tart, add a little more olive oil and a little more salt. Let rest 30 minutes before serving.
Note: To roast tomatoes, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cut off the stem ends of the tomatoes; place them in a small, shallow baking dish; drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until soft and beginning to brown, about 35 minutes. Stir the tomatoes every 15 minutes or so. Remove from the oven, cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
Note: To roast peppers, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a paring knife to remove the stem and seed core of each pepper and to cut each pepper in half lengthwise. Place the peppers in a small, shallow baking dish; drizzle with a little olive oil and toss to coat. Arrange the peppers, cut side down, in a single layer and bake until the skins blister (they do not need to turn black), about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and use your fingers or a sharp paring knife to pull off the skins.
Here is an example of a successful use of mayonnaise in a pasta salad. It is not mixed into the pasta but is instead combined with baby shrimp and a few seasonings and served on top of a pasta salad dressed with rice vinegar and sesame oil. Do not mix the pasta and the shrimp together. The interplay of flavors and textures is what is so engaging and delicious.
The Link LonkJuly 01, 2020 at 04:57AM
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Simple ways to make pasta salad with unexpected flavors - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
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Pasta
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