Why is my pasta salad always flavorless?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't make pasta salad, but question for those who do, if you put oil on just cooked pasta, won't that make all the dressing and flavors not stick? I would think you shouldn't add oils first, but how to you cool it and keep it separate unless you add a bit of oil to it?

Drain it into a colander, then run cold water over it. Swish it around in the colander to distribute the cold water and keep the pieces of pasta from sticking together.

[Anonymous]

Protip: stop making pasta salads. They are gross 1980s food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you put in it? It needs salami, olives, basil and oregano.

I usually make a greek one with peppers, onions, tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives and greek vinaigrette. The one I made last night had tomatoes, onions, black olives, red peppers and mozzarella cheese. I added fresh basil. I don't eat meat, so no meat products.

Maybe more fresh and dried herbs?

-OP

I made this all the time. It's also good with quinoa subbed for the pasta/orzo. I make my own dressing to taste-- red wine vinegar, lots of garlic powder, oregano, and salt. I'd say like 1 tbsp of oregano, 2 tsps garlic powder, and 1 tsp salt. Make it to taste, and put more on than you think you need. I try to avoid oil, and I don't think the dressing needs it.

[Anonymous]

I use Giada's pesto style dressing. There aren't nuts, but you make the vinaigrette in the food processor and add a bunch of basil. Also make sure you don't rinse the noodles or the dressing won't stick/absorb properly.

[Anonymous]

It's helpful to think of pasta salad not as a salad (ie gross raw peppers onions etc with cooked pasta) but as a pasta dish that happens to taste good cold. Also you want to cook the pasta a bit more than al dente, because only then will it be appropriately firm when it cools. Try blistered cherry tomatoes, lots of fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Or roasted vegetables with feta.
My favorites are the Asian noodle salads, like peanut or sesame noodles, which taste great cold and are great with thinly sliced/ julienned raw veggies, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Protip: stop making pasta salads. They are gross 1980s food.

Wtf is up with the “pro tip” poster?

[Anonymous]

OP - What kind of gluten free pasta are you using? I think this is the issue. Most of them turn gummy and bland when used in cold pasta salads, especially the corn-based pastas (most of the big brand gf pastas are corn-based, like barilla). There is a brand called Tinkyada that makes brown rice pasta that works a little better for the classic pasta you mentioned, but contrary to what works with traditional pasta salad, it tastes better when you prepare and serve it sooner. You can chill the ingredients separately.

Another suggestion is to find gluten free soba noodles (Amazon) and make Asian sesame noodles like a PP suggested.

I was diagnosed with Celiac disease almost 20 years ago and had to special order gluten free products through the mail, and they were mostly awful. So bad GF pasta salad is really a great new problem to have.

[Anonymous]

Make a good pesto sauce and add that to the pasta, then the veggies, etc. This will give it plenty of flavor.

[Anonymous]

I've never had a good pasta salad. Potato salads are iffy as well.

[Anonymous]

Drain the pasta and then pour some vinegar over it while the pasta is still hot. Like 1/4 c. of apple cider vinegar per lb of pasta. Adjust your dressing recipe to account for the vinegar you just added. The hot pasta soaks up the vinegar and retains the flavor much better. Learned that from America's Test Kitchen. Their (Cook's Country) Hawaiian Macaroni Salad is really good!

[Anonymous]

For your Greek pasta salad, also add a lot of fresh lemon juice.

[Anonymous]

The reason I don't like it is because people use cheap ingredients. Off brand feta/mozzarella is tasteless, like a white blob. And the salami is greasy normally.

I would prefer a tomato mozzarella salad instead...