My potluck was yesterday--the Oriental Pasta Salad was a huge success!
Everyone loved it. People were asking who made it....even the ballplayers
were asking who made it. People I'd never met before were hugging me,
thanking me for the delicious pasta salad. I took email addresses from
half a dozen people I had never met before who wanted the recipe, and a few
of my friends and acquaintances wanted the recipe, too...I must have emailed
it to 8-9 people already! One of the coaches gave me his wife's email
address at home--he thought she'd like it, too. Too funny!!!!
I actually made 3 times as much dressing and 2 lbs of pasta, increasing the
veggies accordingly, which fed more than 50 people as a side-dish on a
buffet.
I made it somewhat differently than the original recipe I posted, so here's
the final version after I tested and re-tested and tweaked it.
I will make this again!
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Asian Pasta Salad
Dressing:
1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used soybean oil)
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground (powdered) ginger
half an inch of fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (the dark one, i got mine at Trader Joe's)
1 heaping tablespoon of frozen orange juice concentrate (I think this was
the secret ingredient!) I tasted it and it lacked something--it was citrus.
The orange juice cut through the "muddiness" of the sesame oil.
Note: If you use unseasoned rice wine vinegar, you will need to add salt to
the dressing.
In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until creamy and smooth,
about a minute, using a "pulse" action.
Salad:
1 lb "Cavatappi" or other cork screw pasta
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
half a 1 lb bag of frozen sugar snap peas
2 medium sized carrots, sliced thin (about a 1/3 of a lb)
1/3 of a large cucumber
scallions (2-3, to taste)
Radishes (quantity to taste)
1 Tablespoon of sesame seeds, toasted over low heat in an ungreased skillet,
stirring constantly, until golden brown.
Bring a large pot of salted water up to the boil for the pasta.
Slice the carrots thinly, then immerse them in the pasta pot for 1 minute,
and fish them out of the pot with a slotted spoon. Immediately submerge them
in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. You're cooking just to get
rid of the raw taste, but still crunchy. Drain. Rinse the pea pods under
running water so they thaw out, and drain them.
Put the pasta in to cook--cook it until just al dente (use package
directions for timing). Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking
process. Drain well.
Peel and remove the seeds from the cucumber and slice into bite size pieces.
Cut the radishes into bite size pieces. Chop the scallions and set aside.
Toss all veggies with the pasta in a large bowl, and add dressing. Mix well
and let it sit in the fridge a couple hours before serving. Toss in the
toasted sesame seeds for garnish.
Serves 6 as an entree, 10 as a side dish.
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Love like you've never been hurt
Live like there's no tomorrow
And dance like there's nobody watching
