Cold Pasta Salads - Your Way!

[Robo410]

I like a tuna salmon ham chicken or turkey pasta salad. Make whatever is your norn and add pasta to it. I like mine with celerey and bell pepper, and sweet pickle if tuna or ham. Tortolini is great with corn relish mixed as a salad with chopped cucumbers. And Tabouleh is a pasta salad of sorts using bulgar wheat.

[bethzaring]

It's pasta salad time here..........is sooooooooo hot and humid. I just read through this thread to get some new ideas; gonna add some white beans simmered with a bay leaf and garlic, some chopped smoked ham and celery to my old stand by. I have to wait until tomorrow to make it because some of the tomaotes are still ripening in the garden!

[Dave Hutchins]

When I had my restaurant my signature salad was a pasta salad basicly it was spag aldenti and salami, parm cheese and olives and a load of fresh garlic, some diced cheder cheese, chopped green onions and red and green pepper Italian dressing kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper served cold. experament with it try some feta, different meat, jalapeno peppers,
try it have fun mix and match

[kitchenelf]

Originally Posted by Dave Hutchins

When I had my restaurant my signature salad was a pasta salad basicly it was spag aldenti and salami, parm cheese and olives and a load of fresh garlic, some diced cheder cheese, chopped green onions and red and green pepper Italian dressing kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper served cold. experament with it try some feta, different meat, jalapeno peppers,
try it have fun mix and match

This sounds VERY similar to one I make = I use a red wine vinaigrette, smoked gouda, cheddar, salami, red onion, ummmmmmm........ gosh, it's been awhile since I made it - I'll have to hunt down the numbered and signed, handwritten copy of my cookbook - and that would be um......number 1 of 1

[mercyteapot]

We've got 2 that we like a lot. The healthier of the two is gemelli, cukes, tomatoes and feta cheese. We just use Italian dressing. Both the feta and the Italian can be low-fat or fat free.

The other one uses a pound of tricolor rotini. Over that, you pour about 2 cups of ranch dressing (made from the mix is best, but bottled works). You let that sit overnight and in the morning, you pour a packet of Ranch dressing mix, a good handful of chopped fresh dill and about a quarter cup of heavy cream and stir that in. You let it sit another couple of hours. You will be surprised at home much ranch dressing the pasta absorbs. Right before serving, pour in yet more ranch dressing to make it creamy again, then top it with finely diced tomatoes, black olives and walnuts.