7 Ways to Amp Up Your Pasta Salad Game
Yunhee Kim Prop Stylist: Marina Malchin 917 751 2855
As our calendars begin to fill up with plans for picnics, potlucks and backyard barbecues, it’s safe to say that we’re going to be seeing a lot of pasta salads. The danger of such a staple side dish though is that “safe” can quickly become “boring.” Don’t let pasta salad after pasta salad blur together this season. Take a break from your standard mayonnaise-laced fare and give these 7 recipes a try.
Grill, meet vegetables. Radicchio, fennel and bell peppers take a turn on the grill to add a crisp-tender texture and charred flavor to a dish simply seasoned with lemon juice and Parmesan cheese.
Punch up the flavor in your pasta salad with a double helping of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped up for the salad – along with olives, fresh tomatoes and cubes of feta cheese – and mixed into a savory dressing, with red wine vinegar and capers, for Ina Garten’s 5-star recipe.
Kang Kim
With bacon and steak in the mix, this creamy pasta salad edges towards main dish-worthy levels of satisfaction. Bright green beans and bell peppers help to add crunch, color and lightness.
After seeing BLT work its magic in a pasta skillet, macaroni and cheese and a lobster roll, we can't say we're too surprised that these classic flavors work just as well in a pasta salad.
This Mediterranean-inspired dish features refreshing herbs and the bright, salty flavors of olives, feta cheese and pepperoncini peppers.
Yunhee Kim
Easy to assemble and impressively stacked, this 5-star recipe has a little bit of everything, including deli ham, cheddar cheese, avocado and broccoli.
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Bobby Flay adds some Southwestern flair to his pasta salad with corn, cilantro, chipotle pepper, tomatillos and grilled peppers.