Both the purpose of this blog is to get tested recipes from my kitchen to yours sometimes I just desperately need a place to keep track of things you know? Very often I just throws recipes like this together, not really paying attention to how much of what happens, and when it is good and I mean really good, I regret not to keep better track of my process. So here it is, my personal favorite salad of pasta, for my benefit and yours- I hope you'll love!
I'm not going to salads super-heavy pasta with tons of salad dressing, pieces of cheese, meat, and huge chunks of vegetables. Certainly there are many people who love this dish style, but it's just not for me. And I care about for the kind of super fat with soggy, cooked vegetables that tend to wilt and mush as it is. No thanks. I love my pasta salad to be light, with crunchy vegetable bites and tons of flavor. I first made this recipe several years ago with a little girl, I used to babysit for. His mother thought it would be a fun activity for we cook together, and I remember that she left all the ingredients on the counter for us to cut and throw together. I was hooked from that day, and it is kid friendly this dish is my favorite all time.
For me, basil is what really it- adding a perfect herby freshness. I kept simple vegetables, crunchy cucumber, grape tomatoes, and bits of crunchy carrots. (Carrots really add the most amazing texture!) The dressing is mostly just the olive oil and red wine vinegar, with the smallest amount of mayo just because for some reason it's just not the even without it. (Although I would certainly jump if it would be sitting outside for a long period of time.) And ... .well that's pretty much it. I told you it was simple. He is my favorite pasta salad- I can not get enough, thank you and God loves Hugo too, this will be a family favorite!
- Place the cooked, cooled pasta in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, set aside.
- Cut grape tomatoes into quarters, cut the carrots in half the long way and then finely slice into bite-sized pieces. Cut each cucumber into quarters vertically, then cut them into small pieces. Mix vegetables, basil and diced red onion into the bowl with the pasta.
- Add the mayonnaise, sprinkle generously with red wine vinegar and olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Taste to see if more than one of those that are needed. Sometimes I need more vinegar than others, depending on the type of pasta that I use.
- cool pasta salad for about an hour before serving to let the flavors blend. Enjoy!