Description
This cold pasta salad can be made either creamy or non-creamy and it is the perfect idea for Summer! Easy to serve a crowd for bbqs, potlucks or picnics.
Ingredients
Creamy Pasta Dressing
- 2/3 cup sour cream, 150ml
- 5 tbsp mayonnaise, homemade* or store-bought
- 3 tbsp finely chopped pickles, about 60g / 2 oz
- 2 tbsp pickle brine, the liquid from the pickle jar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley, or 1 tsp fresh, optional
Pasta Salad Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta, 350g, fusilli or penne
- 1 1/4 cup shredded or cubed cooked ham, 180g
- 1 cup chopped chorizo, 100g
- 3/4 cup cubed cheese, 100g, like Swiss or Jarlsberg
- 3/4 cup drained, canned corn, 140g
- 1/3 cup drained, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, reserve the oil if making oily dressing**
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 4 spring onion, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups arugula, optional***
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients for the dressing together, taste and adjust seasoning accordingly, (see notes* if you want to make sun-dried oil dressing instead of creamy). Cook pasta according to instructions on the box, and then rinse in cold water in a colander.
- Chop all the ingredients to desired size and place in a large bowl along with the dressing and rinsed, cold pasta. Great with a slice of bread with butter.
- Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Notes
* Recipe for homemade mayonnaise
** Sun-Dried Oil Dressing: 1/4 cup oil from sun-dried tomato jar, 2 tbsp white vinegar, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dried parsley (optional), 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Shake to combine. This is just a little dressing, as I think oily dressings can feel greasy when over-done. Make another batch after if you think it's too little. Better to start with too little than too much!
*** I think arugula works better with the sun-dried oil dressing than the creamy dressing, but it still works with both! Other ingredients that also are delicious in this pasta salad are green olives, avocado and cherry tomatoes.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Inactive Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Main Courses
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 grams
- Calories: 236
- Sodium: 933
- Fat: 14.5
- Saturated Fat: 6.1
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 11.2
- Fiber: 1.4
- Protein: 15.7
- Cholesterol: 52