This pasta salad is my standard, as far as pasta salads go. It’s very simple to put together and is pretty customizable. While I always add red onion, bell pepper, corn, pickles and peas, other optional items include lives, salami, cheese (usually sharp cheddar) and cherry tomatoes. If you’re vegetarian, leave out the salami and ham. If you are cheese-adverse, leave out the cheddar. If you don’t like cheddar, swap it out for gouda or harvarti or monterey jack. The recipe also works really well with gluten free pasta, in case you want or need to go down that route. Great for summer picnics!
Ingredients
1 pound multi-colored rotini-style pasta, cooked al dente*, cooled completely
1 small can corn, drained
1 small red onion, finely minced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup dill pickles or gherkins, chopped
1/4 cup fresh or frozen-and-thawed peas
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup hard salami, diced (optional)
1/4 cup ham, diced (optional)
1/4 cup sharp cheddar, diced (optional)
1/4 cup small cherry tomatoes, whole or halved (optional)
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon herbs de Provence
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a medium work bowl, combine cooked pasta, corn, red onion, bell pepper, pickles, olives, peas, cheddar, ham and salami, and toss together. In another small bowl, combine remaining ingredients for the sauce. Add the two together and gently stir. sprinkle in the tomatoes, if using. Refrigerate until almost ready to
serve; let sit out for 20 minutes at room temperature before serving to let the ingredients meld together.
* it can by any style spoon-sized pasta, but I have found rotini “holds” the other ingredients mixed in and the multi-color adds even more color
