This salad can be served as a side with a meal, but is
hearty enough to be a meal by itself--really good in Summer when it is hot and
you don't feel like cooking. You can, of course, omit the meat for a vegetarian
version.
1/2 pound dry fusilli or rotini
pasta
1 six-oz can whole black
olives, sliced
8 or 9 whole green Spanish
olives, sliced
1/3 cup or so pickled banana
pepper slices, chopped
8 to 10 marinated artichoke
pieces, sliced to bite-size
about one cup diced summer sausage
or salami
1/2 of a medium red onion,
peeled and roughly chopped
(see notes for additional suggestions / ingredients)
Vinaigrette Dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive
oil
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Italian
seasonings
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked
black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 or 5 dashes of Red's Hot
Sauce
3 or 4 squirts of bottled Italian dressing with aged Romano
Cook the pasta in a large pot
of generously-salted water about one minute more than the package directs--for
cold pasta salads you really don't want "al dente." Drain pasta and
rinse under cold water until no longer hot. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking
and draining, slice and chop the other ingredients and place them in a large
container. Add all vinaigrette ingredients into a glass jar with lid, and shake
to combine.
Add drained pasta to the
bowl, pour vinaigrette over and stir to combine. Although this can be eaten
right away, it is best to let it marinate in the refrigerator for a while to
let the flavors meld. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days to a
week.
Notes:
This recipe is flexible and
can include more vegetables, meats, cheeses, etc. as desired. Including the
tomatoes and/or broccoli add a nice punch of color to this salad. Other suggested
ingredients:
- Broccoli florets, cut into small bite-sized pieces (add them to the boiling pasta during the last couple of minutes to cook, then rinse them with cool water along with the pasta)
- Grape tomatoes, halved (these can be added with the other ingredients when making the salad, but halved ones tend to look a little sad if not served soon, so I prefer to add them right before serving. Of course you can put them in the salad whole, but they're tricky to stab with a fork)
- Fresh mozzarella or other cheese, cut into bite sized pieces, or grated (not the dry powdered stuff!) Parmesan or Romano cheese stirred into the salad
- Pickled Italian vegetables (giardiniera),
but NOT pickles
Aunt Peggy's Baby Shower 1946
(She's in the mddle, with Mom right behind her;
this salad would go well at a party like this!)
