Keep quiet and try the pasta salad

Keep quiet and try the pasta salad
                        

At family gatherings, picnics and social functions, I’ve avoided the big bowls of pasta salad consistently. To me, pasta has to be hot, just like coffee. The idea of eating cold pasta doused in salad dressing is, well, as gross as iced coffee. I like it even less than taco salad.

I think it’s one of those things to blame on texture, though I know I’m in the minority, if volume is to be taken as evidence. As assiduously as I’ve passed it by, it has appeared on every picnic table, every church buffet table, every holiday table and in most restaurant buffet lines in Amish country. Somebody must be eating all that pasta salad because more just keeps appearing.

Then again, pasta salad bears the taint of being in a certain food category for me. It keeps company with Hamburger Helper, tuna noodle casserole made with soup and frozen meatballs. Dumping a half bottle of Italian dressing on a bowl of cold pasta seems like cheating. It also shares the stage with macaroni salad, something I haven’t eaten since my late teens when it made me quite ill.

All that changed when, in a total surprise, the answer from home when I texted the daily question “what’s for supper?” was “I’m craving pasta salad. Let’s just try it, please?” There followed a list of items to pick up, none of which were as objectionable as cold pasta.

Given the amount of time I spend lamenting my young son’s lack of dietary variety and refusal to try new things, I felt I needed to just keep quiet and try pasta salad once again, trying to set a good example. I’ve also learned to absolutely trust my wife when it comes to the amazing food she creates like a wizard.

Now I am a convert, but only to this version. I’m still passing it by at picnics.

For this dish the pasta should still be a little warm when everything comes together so the dressing is absorbed nicely. The thing about making something like this is making it your own. Add pepperoncini if you like or some chopped spinach or kale, shredded Brussels sprouts, pepperoni, or green olives or cooked corn. If at the finish, you find it isn’t savory enough, add bits of extra vinegar until it’s just right.

PASTA SALAD

1 packet Italian dressing mix

Olive oil

Red wine vinegar

1 small red and 1 small green bell pepper

1 small red onion

1 box tricolor rotini pasta

1 small can black olives

2 Roma tomatoes

1 bunch flat Italian parsley

5 slices spicy salami

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Mozzarella, in small chunks

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Drizzle with a little olive oil to prevent clumping in the meantime.

Mix up the dressing following instructions on the package, using red wine vinegar and olive oil if other ingredients are called for. Set aside to blend flavors.

While the pasta cooks, cut the onion into a small dice, place in a strainer and rinse under cold water for 20 seconds, to mute the raw onion flavor a bit. Dice the peppers in small pieces and add to the drained onion. Slice the olives and add them to the bowl. Cut the tomatoes into slices and then wedges and add them in. Quarter the salami slices and assemble the rest of the ingredients including the pasta. Pour over the dressing in small batches, mixing after each addition until all is moistened with the dressing. Taste and correct salt as needed.


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