Whats the best way to make pasta salad?!
Answers: I been wanting to make some with chicken & Vegetables, but what kind of sauce do i put in?
Here are two I like:
INGREDIENTS
1 (12 ounce) package radiatore pasta
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup salad oil
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup coarsely chopped green onion
4 cups torn fresh spinach leaves
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in sesame seeds and cook until golden brown. Remove from heat. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Pour dressing into a sealable container, and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together pasta, cooked chicken, and 1 cup dressing (reserve remaining dressing). Cover salad, and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
Directly before serving, stir in parsley, green onions, and spinach. Toss with remaining dressing, if desired.
OR
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces rotelle pasta
5 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
2 carrots, sliced diagonally
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered
1/2 head broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
1/4 cup water
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Place in large bowl with chicken.
In large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Cook carrots with 1/4 teaspoon salt until tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove carrots, place in bowl with chicken and pasta. Add 2 tablespoons oil to wok and cook mushrooms with 1/4 teaspoon salt until tender, 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms and place in bowl.
Add 2 more tablespoons oil to wok, stir-fry broccoli, cauliflower and onion until coated with oil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water, cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes, until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove vegetables with slotted spoon and toss with pasta and chicken.
Mix in green onions, soy sauce and sesame oil, adjusting soy and sesame to taste. Serve warm or cold.
CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
3 Chicken Breasts
2 cups Rotini or Shell Pasta (cooked, rinsed and cooled)
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
8-10 cherry tomatoes (halved)
1/4 cup Feta cheese crumbled (optional)
1/4 Ceasar Salad Dressing (more or less to taste and to coat)
Cook chicken until no longer pink in middle. Chop into small pieces. Chop peppers and add to tomatoes in large bowl. Add chicken, pasta and feta to large bowl. Add Ceasar salad dressing and mix well. Refigerate until needed.
you could use olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or just use a bottled salad dressing
A red wine vinaigrette
well...
a really quick one would be tuna mayonnaise and sweetcorn.
?cook enough pasta as desired
?1-2 tins of tuna
?tinned sweetcorn
once the pasta is cooked, stir in the tinned tuna and the sweetcorn. Neither need cooking as the pasta will heat the tuna. Then mix in the mayonnaise as desired amount.
serve with salad etc
you can try adding mixed beans, or chicken instead of tuna ect
hope this helps....
enjoy
chloe
The "best" is certainly a matter of taste, but I like this recipe myself. This is an extremely easy salad recipe, great for in-a-rush weekday dinners. It is also really good! I like to use tri-color rotini for this, because it adds color, but you can use any kind of pasta. And add any kind of vegetables too instead of the suggestions here - whatever you have in the fridge. If you have leftover chicken or ham, chop and add that too, then you've got a whole meal.
3 cups rotini pasta
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 cups broccoli, cut into small flowerets
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
Cook the pasta and drain. Combine the pasta with all the remaining ingredients. Mix together and chill.
Cold pasta salad? The easiest and best way...Use the noodles that are tri-colored, it gives the dish a festive look. You can add baby corn, chopped tomato, chopped green bell pepper, black/green olives,etc. and your chicken. The best sauce for this would be Italian dressing. Which ever one you like the best. I favor the ones you have to mix in a cruet bottle yourself, it's much fresher tasting. Have fun experimenting, mix and match. Have a great time in your kitchen.
Rainbow Pasta Salad
1- Box Rainbow Pasta
1- Jar of Papaya seed Dressing
1- can olives (sliced)
1 - can corn
1/2 cup fine shreeded cheese
Boil pasta, rines and cool, combine everything but dressing, (add dressing when ready to eat so pasta don't soak it all up)... enjoy
1 pound tri color rotini--cooked al dente
2 medium Carrots Shredded
1/2 red onion, minced fine
2-3 stalks celery minced fine.
chicken cooked and diced to 1/2"
salt and pepper(coarse is good)
Italian Dressing to taste.