Pasta salad is an old standby regarding potluck recipes. Most recipes take less than an hour to make and involve inexpensive ingredients you might already have in your kitchen. However, since pasta salad is such a diverse dish, there is an overwhelming amount of different recipes available.
If you’re not sure where to start, here is a simple recipe for a crowd-pleasing Italian pasta salad for your next potluck.
Ingredients
1 box or package of your choice of pasta
1 cup chopped cucumber1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1 can of sliced black olives
1/4 cup of diced red onion
Your favorite Italian salad dressing
Process
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box, adding a pinch of salt to the water.
- Drain the pasta and set aside while you prep the veggies.
- Move the pasta into a bowl and add in the prepared veggies. Mix with a large, flat spoon to avoid pasta breakage.
- Add salad dressing to taste. For this size of batch, anywhere from half a cup to one cup should work well.
- Place the entire bowl in the refrigerator for a while before serving. This will bring everything to the same cool, refreshing temperature and keep the veggies fresh as possible.
Tips
Here are some additional expert tips for your pasta salad:
- Opt for a pasta shape that’s small and easy to combine with veggies. Some popular choices include farfalle, rotini and penne.
- Once you drain the pasta into a strainer, run it under cold water to reduce the temperature instantly.
- Before adding onions to the mixture, let them soak in a small amount of salad dressing for about 10 minutes. This will make it easier to enjoy the flavor of the onions without it overpowering the rest of the salad.
- Skinning the cucumbers is completely up to your preference. However, consider removing the seeds. This reduces the amount of excess moisture in your pasta salad and makes for a cleaner look.
- Drain the olives carefully to avoid adding extra water to your mixture.
- Slice the tomatoes in half if you wish. For larger cherry tomatoes, this might make them more convenient to eat in combination with the other ingredients.
- Add finely chopped pepperoni, salami, ham or your favorite cheese to add some protein to your pasta salad. You can also top with grated parmesan cheese for a savory garnish.
About the Author
Kimberly Hering
Kimberly Hering's devotion to helping people achieve their real estate goals stems from her genuine enjoyment of the process. Whatever the task, Kimberly makes it her mission to get it done, however she can, without compromising her client's needs. Often, that means thinking outside the box. After working with Kimberly, clients describe her as being Trustworthy, Creative, Patient, Highly Skilled, Attentive to the Process and having a lot of Integrity.
After spending more than 15 successful years working on Wall Street, Kimberly transitioned into Real Estate, joining Alain Pinel Realtors, then moving to Zephyr, now Corcoran Global Living, in 2018. During her career on Wall Street, Kimberly was a Vice President working as an Institutional Equity Salesperson for Montgomery Securities for 10 years. She covered the top money managers throughout the US and Canada. She joined Jefferies & Co as a Senior Vice President managing the Western Region Institutional Sales group, while continuing to cover the top money managers.
Kimberly leverages her extensive experience selling equities to top money managers throughout the US and Canada, to successfully negotiating any Real Estate transaction seamlessly for her clients. Kimberly is well versed in Marin's neighborhoods, towns, cities, and education system.
Living in the Bay Area for 35 years, 25 years in Marin and having 2 sons in local Marin schools, Kimberly spends a lot of time volunteering in the community and serving on various local Boards. Kimberly has a collection of resources ranging from the best local breakfast spots to vetted contractors. With her reliable list of valuable resources, Real Estate experience and unsurpassed knowledge of Marin's many communities, Kimberly can guide her clients through every aspect of a Real Estate transaction seamlessly.
Relocating to Marin, downsizing, upsizing, first time home buying, final home purchase or sale, or a lot to build a dream home, no matter the undertaking, Kimberly works seamlessly until the job at hand is completed with 100% satisfaction.