Pasta Salad

Name: Pasta Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: Indian, European
Ingredients: 1 cup spiral/penne pasta; 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 4 tablespoons white vinegar; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 tablespoon mayonnaise; 1 teaspoon black pepper powder; 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes; 1 teaspoon garlic powder

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Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is a super easy healthy salad using pasta, fresh vegetables, and a zingy homemade dressing to tie it all together.

The ingredients are simple and flexible, so you can make this when you are inundated by seasonal produce and you can adapt to what is in season. A complete meal and ready in 15-20 minutes.

This is one of the very few salads that my children love! They do not enjoy eating salad, but they love this combination of pasta and vegetables and it is my way of feeding them fresh healthy food. My children love helping me make this salad. It is really satisfying watching them cook and to see them eating healthy food!

Ingredients

1 cup spiral/penne pasta
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 diced onion
1 diced red pepper
1 diced yellow pepper
1 cup diced paneer or feta
10 cherry tomatoes slit in half

Directions

Step-1

Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the pasta pack. Once boiled, drain the pasta and let it aside to cool.

Step-2

In a bowl, mix olive oil, white vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk it for 2 minutes until it becomes thick and creamy. Next, add the mayonnaise and whisk for another minute.

Step-3

Add salt, sugar, black pepper, oregano, chilli flakes, basil and garlic powder in the salad dressing and mix.

Step-4

In a bowl, mix the boiled pasta with cherry tomatoes, peppers, paneer/feta and onion.

Add salad dressing and toss to give an even coating on the pasta and vegetables.

Serve and enjoy!

Tips & Variations

Pasta is essential, but the type of pasta you use does matter. You can use any hearty pasta shapes like penne, fusilli, rotini, orzo and farfalle (bow tie). They have the advantage of lots of nooks and crannies, which trap the dressing.
An assortment of vegetables adds colour and crunch to the salad. You can add other vegetables like sliced fennel, grated carrots, radish, broccoli, spinach, beetroot, roasted squash, edamame etc.
My favourite part about pasta salad is adding ingredients that make it shine. Thus, I prefer to use different flavourings while making the dressing. Sometimes I also add olives, and pickled vegetables as well.
Pasta salad gets better over time so try and make it ahead of time and you will notice it makes a huge difference to the flavour.
I use sugar to balance the acidity of lemon juice and vinegar. However, if you wish you can leave sugar out.