pasta salad recipe – yes pasta in salads, this is how at home we like our pastas to be. the soft cooked pasta with crunchy veggies is always looked forward when i make pasta or salad.
this pasta salad is jamie oliver’s recipe and he calls it the best pasta salad. i agree. it is one of the best pasta salads I have made and served. have adapted the recipe from jamie oliver’s website.
this is the first jamie oliver recipe, i tried and it was so good that now i have decided to buy jamie oliver’s cookbooks. i am an avid reader of books (cooking & philosophical) and just one recipe is enough to convince me that the other recipes will also be good.
when i was reading the recipe, what i liked the most was boiling the garlic with pasta and then mashing it and adding to the dressing. the mashed garlic does add a lot of flavor to the pasta.
i made some adaptations like adding balsamic vinegar and using some more herbs. i did not have ingredients like red & yellow cherry tomatoes, so added regular tomatoes.
if possible use smaller shell shaped pasta. i had whole wheat pasta rigatoni (tube shaped pasta) and i felt that they were a bit large for the salad…. but nobody complained thankfully. since i wanted more crunch, i added some onions & lastly garnished the pasta with pomegranate arils.
few more pasta recipes on the blog are:
if you have fresh herbs, then use those and if you have dry herbs, then add that 🙂
so if you love pasta and if you love salads, then do make this pasta salad recipe. its a simple and easy pasta salad recipe and makes for a quick brunch or meals in between.
the pasta salad can also be served as a starter (warm or chilled) when you prepare an italian menu.
pasta salad
INGREDIENTS FOR pasta salad
- 125 grams shell shaped pasta or pasta rigatoni (whole wheat or all purpose flour pasta)
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves (lahsun)
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion (optional)
- 1 medium size tomato (optional)
- 1 small cucumber (optional)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon herbes de provence
- 1 teaspoon dry basil OR ¼ cup chopped basil
- ½ teaspoon dry oregano
- ½ or 1 tablespoon garlic chives (hara lahsun)
- 9 to 10 pitted black olives, sliced
- ½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
- salt as required
- black pepper powder as required (kali mirch powder)
HOW TO MAKE pasta salad
cooking pasta for pasta salad
- heat enough water with some salt.
- when the water starts boiling, add the pasta along with the garlic clove
- cook the pasta till they are done. drain.
- to avoid the pasta from sticking to each other, add some oil and stir gently.
making pasta salad
- in a salad bowl, add all the veggies and herbs. add the pasta and toss.
- take the cooked garlic clove and mash it in a mortar & pestle.
- to this add the olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper.
- stir the seasoning and add it to the pasta.
- toss and serve pasta salad garnished with some pomegranate arils.
Hey
Can you please add some more recipes of international salads like som tum salad or watermelon salad.
do plan to add garima, but at my home no one is fond of salads. so i have to eat all the salad that i make 🙂 what is tum salad?
Som Tum salad is a Thai salad which is made with Raw Papaya. It has a lot of flavours in it. It’s sweet, tangy and hot too. More than a salad, it can be served as a starter too. It is also addressed as Som Tam salad too.
thanks garima for sharing this info.
hey can u plz tell me what is herbs de provence??
Herbes de Provence is a mixture of dried herbs which is used commonly in France.
Lovely salad Dassana, I need to try this soon.
i love the colors in this salad. so pretty and delicate flavors!
Hey Dassana, This bowl does look very healthy and is deliciously done!