Homemade Pasta Salad

Can you feel it? The weather is getting warmer, the tree pollen is subsiding (at least in North Carolina). You can almost smell the grill out back and feel the sun on your cold, pale skin (it’s me, I’m the pale one). I associate warm weather with good food cooked out on our grill. Dave is a grill master and cooks up the best chicken, burgers, and brats anywhere. For no particular reason, I don’t do the grilling (bugs, humidity, intimidation..). I am, however, the side dish queen and nothing goes better with grilled goods than a chilled homemade pasta salad.

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There is serious competition between pasta salad and macaroni salad in my house. If you’re not sure of the difference, pasta salad is made with Italian dressing and macaroni salad is made with mayonnaise. My mom makes a MEAN macaroni salad. That stuff could win competitions easily. It is an adaptation of my late Grandpa Faughnan’s macaroni salad (which my dad considers blasphemous, but even he can’t deny the excellence). If I can get her to nail down some kind of recipe you will see it here first.

Back to pasta salad. My mom makes a nice pasta salad too but she has a dirty secret: it’s Suddenly Salad. She doctors it up good with some cheese and pepperoni but it still came from a box. Don’t get me wrong, it is tasty but it doesn’t beat out homemade pasta salad. There is something about those boxed pasta mixes that puts me off. I don’t trust the integrity of the pasta itself (I am picky about pasta brands and shapes, need noodles that can hold their own!).

Over the years, my pasta salad has morphed as I add more and more ingredients. I love how colorful this pasta salad is. It has all the best ingredients. Dave and I were just talking the other day how we could do variations with different Italian meats and cheeses (I feel like a Greek version would be awesome too). This classic pasta salad though combines extra sharp cheese with mild mozzarella cheese, briny black olives, spicy pepperoni, and cooling cherry tomatoes.

This pasta salad is so tangy and tasty. The flavors of the ingredients really shine with the Italian dressing. The best part is that you make is according to your taste. You choose your favorite pasta and Italian dressing. You can make your own or you can take some short cuts. Either way, it is my favorite side dish on a hot summer day with a hot dog. I can’t wait to make it all summer!

Ingredients

• 1lb your favorite shape of pasta (I love radiatore as my pasta salad pasta. Wal-Mart brand always has this shape! I think farfalle (bowties) or rotini would be a solid back up though)
• 16oz you favorite Italian dressing (I go with Olive Garden dressing for this salad, it is so delicious and tangy. Kudos if you make your own!)
• 8oz mozzarella cheese (Bel gioso makes the pearls they’re perfect for this!)
• 2 tbsp pesto (If you make you’re own, great. If you’re like me and love a good lazy pesto, the Classico is excellent)
• 8oz can black olives, drained
• 8oz extra sharp cheddar cheese (I choose yellow over white for the color. Sounds silly but it really is pretty)
• 3.5oz mini pepperoni, half the bag (Hormel makes these adorable salad pepperonis, you can always use standard pepperoni and cut it up if these are hard to find)
• 1 small container cherry tomatoes, halved

Instructions

1. Boil pasta according to instructions. I always boil my pasta one minutes less than the box says because there is nothing worse than mushy pasta or pasta that falls apart.
2. Strain pasta and allow to cool in the sink. You can run some cool water over it but that is typically a pasta no-no because it strips the starch. Under duress and a time crunch, it won’t hurt this recipe.
3. Transfer cooled pasta to a large bowl. Pour one cup of Italian dressing to coat the pasta. Refrigerate until cold, generally 2-3 hours.
4. While the pasta is chilling, dice cheddar cheese, halve the cherry tomatoes, and drain the olives.
5. Once pasta has chilled, add pesto and another 1/2 cup of Italian dressing. Stir to combine.
6. Add the olives, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese to the pasta. Stir until combined and coated.
7. Refrigerate until chilled, about an hour.
8. Reserve the final 1/2 cup of Italian dressing for serving. Pour over the pasta salad and stir to combine. The dressing absorbs into the pasta over time so I like to save a little dressing to freshen it up and coat everything right before serving.
9. Enjoy chilled with your favorite barbecued goodies such as grilled chicken, burgers, and hot dogs!