LOVE this stuff. The spouse does too. Works as a quick lunch over lettuce and tomato or as a side dish.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups cooked wheat pasta (macaroni shape)
1 carrot shredded
½ British cucumber diced (I prefer these because the skin isn’t bitter tasting)
½ red bell pepper finely chopped
¼ onion finely chopped
5 small pickles diced (I like garlic dills)
½ tbsp pickle juice
2 hard-boiled eggs diced
2 generous tbsp relish
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 generous tsp mustard (I use garlic mustard)
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Feta cheese (optional add on for when served)
Cook and drain the pasta. Cook the eggs. Meanwhile, shred the carrot and dice/chop the cucumber, pepper, onion, and pickles. Once the eggs have cooked and cooled, chop those and add to the vegetables. Then add the pickle juice, relish, mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir everything and then add the pasta. I like both a balanced flavor and pasta-to-other-ingredients ratio, so I usually add the pasta in batches last, especially if I am trying other ingredients in the mix. Green olives and finely chopped celery can be added or substituted for flavor and texture.
ORGANIC INGREDIENTS: Unless ridiculously overpriced, I tend to purchase as much organic as possible. I won’t note organic this/or that, I’ll leave it as assumed.
FROM “SCRATCH” NOTE: I started making pasta salad because I find it too expensive as a pre-made grocery item and it often drowns in mayonnaise and is somewhat lacking in flavor. I’m still at the bread phase for making everything from scratch, but I sometimes try to trace everything back to its original state to imagine if I could make it or not. I could learn how to make pasta, pickles, relish, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, and cheese. At some point I will try, but as time is a significant factor, I doubt I will ever make this pasta salad entirely from scratch. Maybe when I retire. I might even grow my own vegetables.
