Improved Pasta Salad
Many years ago, I invented the recipe for Becca's Pasta Salad when I happened to have some ranch dressing and canned fried onions to use up. It quickly became a staple of my diet, and when Daniel and I began living together he immediately became enamored of it. ("This is great! What is it?" "Uhh...it's just something I cook...I never needed a name for it in my brain...." "Well, think of a name so we can talk about it so we can make it all the time!") We still eat it often. Our almost-three-year-old loves it.
But that recipe has a few flaws: It contains no significant protein (pasta has a little bit; whole-wheat pasta has more), and it relies on two condiments that tend to be pricey and full of additives. We've found brands of canned fried onions without additives (Valu Time and Trader Joe's) but they're still not a healthy food. After some experimentation, I developed this ***NEW!!!***IMPROVED!!!*** more nutritious Pasta Salad. Note that you can reserve some of the cooked pasta and veggies for the Original Recipe treatment and use the Improved Recipe on the rest, thus pleasing a variety of palates or just giving yourself some variety as you eat leftovers.
This recipe is great for potlucks. It's vegan, but many omnivores like it too. It still tastes good if it cools to room temperature, and it's not especially prone to spoilage.
We tend to make a huge vat of Pasta Salad so we can have a meal and then pack portions to take for lunch, so rather than state quantities, I'll give relative proportions.
You will need:
pasta (multicolored rotini is nice)
fresh or frozen vegetables—at least as much as pasta, up to twice as much
lots of olive oil—about 1/2 cup per pound of pasta
onion—about 1 small or 1/2 large onion per pound of pasta
herbs like dill, parsley, rosemary, oregano—enough to generously sprinkle into the oil
nutritional yeast flakes (huh?)—enough to generously cover the cooked pasta and veggies
shelled sunflower seeds (or chopped walnuts or pecans)—enough to coat the cooked pasta and veggies
salt, if seeds are not salted
tomato (optional)
a big pot with lid
another pot, ideally a deep skillet
a colander (pasta drainer)
Fill the big pot with water, cover, and bring to a boil.
Cut up all the veggies and divide them into two categories:
But that recipe has a few flaws: It contains no significant protein (pasta has a little bit; whole-wheat pasta has more), and it relies on two condiments that tend to be pricey and full of additives. We've found brands of canned fried onions without additives (Valu Time and Trader Joe's) but they're still not a healthy food. After some experimentation, I developed this ***NEW!!!***IMPROVED!!!*** more nutritious Pasta Salad. Note that you can reserve some of the cooked pasta and veggies for the Original Recipe treatment and use the Improved Recipe on the rest, thus pleasing a variety of palates or just giving yourself some variety as you eat leftovers.
This recipe is great for potlucks. It's vegan, but many omnivores like it too. It still tastes good if it cools to room temperature, and it's not especially prone to spoilage.
We tend to make a huge vat of Pasta Salad so we can have a meal and then pack portions to take for lunch, so rather than state quantities, I'll give relative proportions.
You will need:
pasta (multicolored rotini is nice)
fresh or frozen vegetables—at least as much as pasta, up to twice as much
lots of olive oil—about 1/2 cup per pound of pasta
onion—about 1 small or 1/2 large onion per pound of pasta
herbs like dill, parsley, rosemary, oregano—enough to generously sprinkle into the oil
nutritional yeast flakes (huh?)—enough to generously cover the cooked pasta and veggies
shelled sunflower seeds (or chopped walnuts or pecans)—enough to coat the cooked pasta and veggies
salt, if seeds are not salted
tomato (optional)
a big pot with lid
another pot, ideally a deep skillet
a colander (pasta drainer)
Fill the big pot with water, cover, and bring to a boil.
Cut up all the veggies and divide them into two categories:
- The ones that will get boiled with the pasta are those that are frozen and/or in big, dense chunks: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, carrots and zucchini if in big pieces, etc.
- The ones that will get cooked in the oil are those that are thin and cook quickly: spinach, carrots and zucchini if sliced thinly, kale if shredded with stems removed, mushrooms, etc. Spinach or shredded kale can be cooked in the oil even if it's frozen; just break it into chunks as much as possible before adding it and then break it up with the spoon as it thaws. Note that when you cook veggies in the oil, their flavor and vitamins go into the oil, instead of partly going down the drain with the boiling water.
When water boils, add pasta and boilable veggies. Cook until they reach desired tenderness. Drain.
Meanwhile, put olive oil, onion, and fryable veggies in the other pot over medium-high heat. When oil starts bubbling, reduce heat. When onion begins to brown, add herbs and salt (if needed). Simmer until onion is fully cooked.
[This step can be done in the pasta pot or on your plate.] Cover top surface of pasta with yeast flakes. Add oil mixture. Stir thoroughly until yeast flakes dissolve into oil, making a sauce that coats pasta and veggies. Top with sunflower seeds and optional tomato.
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