Cold Pasta Salad

I truly enjoy making and eating cold pasta salad. It is so easy to make and tastes pretty darn good! It makes a perfect side dish to so many meals; whether it's a chicken or a steak dish, hamburgers, sausages, pork chops or even by itself. I can't even count how many times I've made this for my friends or family for different events/bbqs & got to say...it is always a hit! The most time involved in preparing this dish is the chopping, depending on what you put in it.

The pasta I enjoy using the most is either orecchiette, small bow-ties or tri-colored spiral pasta. You could also use penne, small shells, cavatelli etc. There are so many different types to choose from, so have fun with it to your liking. I wouldn't really recommend long pasta such as spaghetti or fettucini because it gets messy for your guests. I only use the long types for hot pasta dishes or lo-mein oriental style dishes.

Before you start preparing the array of ingredients for your pasta salad, you should put a large pot of water on the stove on a high flame. Add a little bit of Kosher salt (it's a bit thicker & you don't need as much) or table salt until the it boils.

Once the water has boiled, stir in the pasta. Add no more than a teaspoon of olive oil to the water. This will help prevent the pasta from getting sticky when you strain it. In about seven minutes, taste the pasta to see if it's ready... you don't want the pasta to over-cook and become mushy!

When it's ready, strain and mix the pasta to seperate apart. Pour all the pasta into a large bowl with some salt, fresh ground black pepper (if you like pepper, the way I do, the fresh kind makes a big difference) and a little bit of olive oil and stir. Put bowl in fridge. I do not like to cover the bowl right away because I want all the heat coming off the pasta to escape... because the colder your pasta salad is, the better it tastes :)

In the meantime, while the water is boiling, that is when I prep my ingredients because it saves a lot more time.

Do not add all these ingredients right on top of the pasta all at once. You should add it all a little at a time, stir, and then add more pasta and repeat...this way all the ingredients are spread out throughout the entire salad.

Variations of ingredients that you could use in your home-made cold pasta salad to suit you & your guest's tastes.:

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes. They usually come in small clear containers. Wash thoroughly. I usually like to slice the tomatoes vertically in half; however, you can also throw them in whole if you'd like.

Fresh Mozzarella balls. They can be bought in the deli section in the supermarket or at an Italian pork store. I like to use the small or extra small mozzarella balls so that way I don't have to cut them, but you can always cut up a large piece if you can't find the smaller ones. Make sure you drain the juice in the mozzarella container before adding to your salad.

Roasted Peppers. Cut them up into tiny pieces.

Sweet White or Red Onion. Dice it into pieces as well, especially because onions have a strong taste.

Celery or Carrots cut into small pieces.

Olives, anchovies, artichokes or portobello mushrooms (cooked or uncooked).

Prosciutto cut into small pieces.

Grilled Chicken cubes. Season first before you cook to enhance flavor. Season it with extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper, squeezed fresh lemon, and a little bit of white wine. Let chicken marinate for as long as possible, so all the flavors are absorbed.

I always recommend using fresh basil. It is so tasty. My mother grows it in her garden, and it is always such a nice feeling to go outside and take some while I'm cooking in the kitchen. Wash the basil and either leave in whole pieces or cut into smaller pieces depending on how you like it.

Finally and most importantly, the dressing. It is a must. Either Balsamic vinegar & extra virgin Olive oil, a ready-made Italian dressing or a lemon and oil dressing, etc.

Salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Do not add all these ingredients right on top of the pasta all at once. You should add it all a little at a time, stir, and then add more pasta and repeat...this way all the ingredients are spread out throughout the entire salad.

Stir all together. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour. Enjoy! Have fun with it and be creative :)