Pasta Salads

In Russian cuisine there are a lot of salads, which are prepared with the addition of potatoes, since this vegetable is inexpensive, but it makes snacks more satisfying. Italians prefer to add pasta to cold snacks to increase their calories. This ingredient goes well with almost all products: meat, fish, mushrooms, vegetables, fruits. Cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and ketchup sauces are suitable for him. Made from durum wheat pasta does not pose a serious threat to the figure. Pasta salads are prepared quickly and easily, rarely include inaccessible ingredients, and therefore are inexpensive. But such snacks are tasty and nourishing, they look appetizing, and they are not ashamed to be served on a festive table.

Cooking Features

The process of cooking salads with pasta is not complicated, but it has a number of nuances, without knowing which the result may not be at all what the chef expects.

For the preparation of salads usually use medium-sized pasta (horns, shells, bows). To make the appetizer more attractive, preference should be given to shaped pasta or tinted in different colors with natural ingredients (spinach, turmeric, carrots).
When choosing pasta for salad, give preference to those made from durum wheat varieties: they are healthier and look better after boiling. Usually such products are marked with the letter “A”.
Before you buy a pasta will not interfere with their inspection. Too white or gray products should be left on the shelf: they are made from low-quality raw materials. Too bright yellow pasta should also alert: unscrupulous manufacturers often tint pasta to give them a more attractive look when they are made from low-grade flour. High-quality pasta should be smooth, not broken into pieces.
A salad with pasta will be tasty and attractive looking only if it is cooked correctly. They are not washed before cooking, dipped in boiling and already salted water. Per 100 g of pasta must take at least 1 liter of water, otherwise they may stick together during cooking. It is impossible to digest pasta, otherwise they will become unappetizing, will lose their shape. Determining how long to cook pasta, you need to focus on the manufacturer's recommendations, placed on the package.
After cooking, the pasta is washed so that they do not stick together. Washing helps cool the pasta before adding it to the salad. If the salad that you are going to make is classified as warm, you should not wash the pasta in cold water. To prevent them from sticking together, mix them with a small amount of olive oil.
Warm salads are served immediately after preparation. The products used for their preparation, do not cool. All other types of salads are prepared from pre-cooled ingredients to make the appetizer longer fresh.

Pasta salads are very different, the technology of making these snacks may differ slightly. To get the desired result, you must follow the instructions that accompany the specific recipe.

Salad with pasta and poultry

Composition:

pasta (bows) - 0, 35 kg;
smoked chicken or turkey - 0, 35 kg;
celery stalks - 100 g;
apple - 0, 2 kg;
canned champignons - 150 g;
blue cheese - 50 g;
mayonnaise - 100 ml;
natural yogurt - 150 ml;
salt, paprika - to taste.

Method of preparation:

Boil the pasta. Throw in a colander, rinse. Leave to cool.
Poultry meat is separated from the bones, cleaned from the skins. Cut into cubes no larger than 1 cm.
Wash the celery stalks. Remove the lower sections with coarse fibers. The remaining celery is finely chopped, put to the poultry meat.
Apple wash, dry with a napkin. Cut the core. Cut the flesh into roughly the same pieces as a chicken or turkey. Put to the rest of the ingredients. To prevent the apples from turning dark, they can be pre-sprinkled with lemon juice.
Transfer to the rest of the products bows.
Stir.
Put the sliced cheese into the blender bowl. Add yogurt and mayonnaise to it. Salt and pepper.
Turn on the unit, turn the contents of its bowl into a homogeneous mass.
Season the salad with the cooked sauce.

When serving, you can decorate the dish with basil leaves and pieces of cheese.

Salad with macaroni, cheese and vegetables

Composition:

small pasta - 0, 4-0, 5 kg;
string beans - 0, 4-0, 5 kg;
pitted olives - 100 g;
canned corn - 100 g;
hard cheese - 150 g;
tomatoes - 0, 2-0, 25 kg;
garlic - 2 cloves;
olive oil - 80 ml;
lemon - 1 pc .;
salt, fresh parsley - to taste.

Method of preparation:

Boil, rinse, cool pasta.
Wash the beans. Cut into pieces of 2-3 cm. Boil in salted water. Drop in a colander, let the beans dry.
Drain the liquid from the jars of olives and corn. Cut olives into large rings.
Cut tomatoes into large cubes. For salad, you can use cherry tomatoes, they are enough to cut in half.
Cut the cheese into small cubes or chop it on a coarse grater.
Fold all prepared ingredients into a large container.
Add salt, oil, garlic squeezed through a press, squeezed lemon juice. Mix well.

When serving, sprinkle the salad with chopped parsley. From the number of ingredients in the recipe of the salad get a lot. If you do not count on a large company, the number of products should be reduced, keeping the proportions.

Italian salad with pasta and ham

Composition:

macaroni - 0, 2 kg;
ham - 0, 2 kg;
tomatoes - 150 g;
Bulgarian pepper - 0, 2 kg;
olive oil - 80 ml;
grape vinegar (6 percent) - 60 ml;
salt, black pepper - to taste;
fresh greens, hard cheese - for serving.

Method of preparation:

Boil the pasta in salted water, rinse, let them cool.
Wash, dry vegetables with a napkin.
Pepper seeds, cut into quarters about 5 mm thick rings.
Cut the tomato, spoon out the juicy pulp with seeds. Cut the remaining flesh into small cubes.
Combine vegetables with pasta.
Cut ham into strips, add to pasta.
Pour into a container with products a dressing made from vinegar, oil, salt and pepper, mix.

Put the salad in a dish, sprinkle with grated cheese and chopped greens. The amount of these ingredients can be taken any, based on your taste.

Unusual salad with pasta and avocado

Composition:

macaroni - 0, 3 kg;
cherry tomatoes - 0, 2 kg;
avocados - 0, 2 kg;
mozzarella - 0, 2 kg;
table mustard - 5 ml;
olive oil - 100 ml;
grape vinegar (6%) - 40 ml;
salt, black pepper powder - to taste.

Method of preparation:

Mustard mustard with a spoonful of olive oil, pepper and vinegar. Add remaining oil, whisk together.
Boil the pasta, fold it in a colander, mix with the prepared sauce, leave to cool.
Cut the avocado, remove the bone. Cut the pulp into perpendicular lines to make cubes. Separate them from the skin.
Cut mozzarella in circles or break it with your hands.
Slice tomatoes into halves.
Put the pasta on the dish, spread the halves of the tomatoes on them, cubes of avocado and pieces of cheese.

Additionally, when serving snacks to the table, you can sprinkle them with aromatic herbs, fresh or dried, and pour over olive oil.

Salad with pasta, melon and shrimp

Composition:

pasta (horns) - 0, 25 kg;
celery root - 0, 2 kg;
shrimps (cooked, frozen, peeled) - 0, 2 kg;
melon - 0, 2 kg;
avocados - 0, 2 kg;
fresh dill - 50 g;
mayonnaise - 50 ml;
natural yogurt - 150 ml;
cognac - 40 ml;
fatty cream - 60 ml;
lemon juice - 5-10 ml;
salt, a mixture of ground peppers - to taste.

Method of preparation:

Boil the horns in salted water. Throw in a colander, rinse. Wait for the pasta to cool.
In a clean saucepan, boil water, dip the shrimp in it. Cook for 3 minutes. One minute until cooked, add salt and pepper to the water.
Catch shrimp with a skimmer. Let them cool and dry. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
Combine pasta with shrimp. Add finely chopped dill, mix. Put on a dish.
Cut the melon in half, remove the pulp with seeds, separate the remaining pulp from the peel, cut into medium-sized slices. Pour a little lemon juice.
Remove the bone from the avocado. Remove the pulp with a spoon. Cut into thin plates. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
Spread avocado slices and melons on pasta, alternating.
Pour brandy, cream, yogurt and mayonnaise into the bowl. Add salt and pepper mixture. Whisk with a whisk.
Pour over cognac sauce and serve to the table.

An appetizer made according to this recipe looks elegant and presentable, has a noble balanced taste. If you prepare such a salad for the festive table, the guests will surely be satisfied.

Warm salad with pasta, zucchini and broccoli

Composition:

pasta (feathers) - 0, 3 kg;
zucchini - 0, 4 kg;
broccoli - 0, 2 kg;
olive oil - as required;
lemon juice - 20 ml;
raisins - 60 g;
pine nuts - 50 g;
salt, black pepper powder - to taste.

Method of preparation:

Zucchini cut into cubes or cubes of about 1 cm or slightly larger. Salt lightly.
Fry zucchini in vegetable oil until tender. Put on a dish covered with a napkin so that it absorbs excess oil.
Broccoli disassemble into inflorescences. Dip in boiling water, cook for 5 minutes. Catch with a slotted spoon and transfer to a container filled with cold water. Throw in a colander, let dry. Each inflorescence cut into 4-6 parts.
Boil the pasta. Well in this salad look feathers of different colors, but you can use white.
Drain the pasta with water, add a spoonful of butter to it, mix.
Without waiting for the products to cool, combine them, add steamed raisins and lemon juice, mix.

When serving, sprinkle the salad with pine nuts. Snacks prepared according to this recipe can be served both warm and cold. If you serve the salad cold, you can use raw vegetables for it, but then they are cut into smaller pieces and lemon juice for dressing mixed with olive oil or unsweetened yogurt.

How to decorate pasta salad

If you do not take care of decorating the salad with pasta, there is a danger that it will look too casual. If you wish to serve this snack to the festive table, you need to think about its design. There are several options for decorating pasta salad, which do not require much time and outstanding culinary skills.

The pasta salad can be laid on a pile on lettuce leaves, decorated with leaves or a sprig of basil. Other greens will do as well, but basil will emphasize that the snacks belong to Mediterranean cuisine.
The mesh of sauce put over the salad will give it a more sophisticated look.
The decoration of pasta salad can serve as its products. Along the edges of the plate or on the surface of the salad itself, halves of cherry tomatoes or quail eggs, red onion rings or olives can be spread out.
An appetizer will look even more festive if it is decorated with flowers from vegetables. Flowers can also be made from slices of ham, melted cheese, salmon.

If there is absolutely no time for decorating a salad, sprinkle it with grated cheese or crushed nuts, seeds. Such salads always look elegant and modern.

Pasta salads are a popular dish of Italian cuisine. Due to the availability, ease of preparation, mouth-watering appearance and pleasant taste, these foods have spread throughout the world. They are suitable for a family dinner and dinner party. Serving pasta salad to the festive table, you should take care of its beautiful design.