One of the favourite courses from the land of Italy accompanying the world-famous Pizzas is the Pasta and the recipe of pasta salad! But, it was the famous explorer Marco Polo who brought pasta to Italy from the Mediterranean region in the early BC. There, it got star recognition. In later years when English people colonised Italy, they got hands-on with this regional delicacy of pasta and took the recipe to England. It then travelled to America where they gave the healthy pasta salad. Today it is every household’s favourite!
But making pasta salad is more American than Italian as the latter prefer pasta creamy, and hot to eat. Pasta salad recipe prefers it to be cold to eat. Now let us have a look at how to make pasta salad.
Variations in a delicious pasta salad!
Pasta and pasta salad recipe gives an open and broad space to prepare them based on variations seen. These variations in the dish are based on the type of sauce or the pasta gravy prepared or the type of pasta used. So, this results in various delicacies arising from a single one. Pasta classification is by their different shapes like penne, fusilli, macaroni, bowtie, spaghetti and shell. It also involves making various coloured sauces like white, red, pesto and pink. Sheets of pasta are also in the bag, which gives us the delicious lasagna! Do not forget to have a look at our videos and articles on these varying delicacies!
Red sauce pasta– An Indian variation, giving a zingy touch to the dish with the tanginess of chilli and tomatoes.
Pink sauce pasta– A blend of tomato and white cream sauce to the pasta.
White sauce pasta- The standard cream cheese and milk gravy, with a dressing of pepper and salt!
Baked pasta– Prepared pasta covered in the sheets of cheese and goes into baking!
Pasta salad provides the podium to add diverse vegetables and nuts of our choice that syncs well with the taste of the seasonings added. Some of the favourite pasta salad bowls include Mediterranian pasta salad, lemon chicken pasta, broccoli and feta, vegetable and tuna, and peas and ham.
The bowl of energy
The pasta salad recipe has loads of veggies and gluten-free variations (whole grain too). We can add nut varieties too to the salad. This enhances the nutritional value of the pasta salad with various vitamins, minerals. The macronutrients like carb and fibre offer the energy for you to work round the clock. So, pasta salad makes the bowl of a healthy and tasty breakfast for you to continue with your routine.
This recipe of pasta salad has the addition of walnuts. It is good for the functioning of the brain and nervous system and keeps your diet in control. For people keen on their weight loss, pasta salad is a go-to delicacy without any compromise in the taste of your breakfast!
A super-quick skim on the pasta salad recipe
First, take 2 cups of pasta of any type of your choice and boil them with the addition of oil and salt. Meanwhile, cut the vegetables (onion, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, red and yellow bell peppers) add them to the boiled pasta in a bowl. Then add walnuts and olives with feta cheese cubes. Mix them well. To prepare the salad dressing add salt, black pepper powder to olive oil and mix them in the salad bowl. In conclusion, garnish the salad with basil leaves and grated parmesan cheese. Give a final mix and serve the bowl!
Little tips to elevate the dish!
Always make sure that you add cold water to the boiled pasta while straining. This helps with stopping the pasta from getting cooked further due to the heat. Also, pasta salad tastes the best when served cold.
If you add vinegar to the salad, remember to add a pinch of powdered sugar to balance the acidity content in the salad.
As an alternate, you can use cottage cheese or tofu in the place of feta cheese. You can also replace basil leaves with dried herbs available.
Any choice of pasta is fine for making pasta salad. You can also opt for vegetable pasta like pasta made from beetroot or spinach extracts because that makes a great bowl of veggies altogether.
You can always go with using normal tomatoes if you cannot avail of cherry tomatoes. Try adding garlic powder, oregano and chilli flakes to the salad dressing because seasoning will surely elevate the taste of your Pasta salad.
Step-by-step instructions for the Pasta salad recipe
Firstly, boil the pasta in warm water by adding oil and salt. Strain the pasta and let it cool.
Take a bowl and add the boiled pasta to the bowl. To that, add 1 diced capsicum and a dash of red and yellow pepper, each diced.
To it, add 1 chopped large onion with 10 cherry tomatoes. Add 8 walnuts and 10 black olives.
Give a mix so that all the ingredients blend well. To this veggie bowl, add 1/4th cup of feta cheese cubes with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper powder.
Then add 4 tablespoons of Olive oil with basil leaves and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese to complete the salad dressing.
After that, mix the salad ingredients well and add Italian seasonings if needed.
