Calabrese Pasta Salad

Calabrese pasta salad is wonderful pasta dish featuring roasted red peppers served either warm or cool as a side dish or entrée.

My mother and I found the recipe that inspired this Pasta Salad off of a pasta box almost two decades ago. It has since become a favourite dish because of its complex flavours and textures.

Should you rinse pasta when making pasta salad?

Pasta should always be rinsed after cooking when using it for a cold pasta salad.

Rinsing in cold water stops the cooking process immediately. It also keeps the pasta from getting gummy and sticking together.

How do you cool pasta down for pasta salad?

To quickly cool down cooked pasta for salad, drain the cooked pasta with a colander. Then rinse the pasta in cold water until no longer warm.

Alternatively you can place the drained pasta into an ice bath to cool it even faster.

Grilled Summer Pasta Salad

In the Summer this is great to make on the grill.

Just replace canned tomatoes with 4 fresh plum tomatoes. Brush the tomatoes, onion and sweet pepper with olive oil and grill until browned and slightly soft. Coarsely chop grilled vegetables and add to the oil-herb mixture.

Make this Pasta Salad an Entree

Add 3 grilled boneless chicken breasts cut into bite sized chunks to this pasta salad to make it a meal on its own. I also like to fry the breasts in a little olive oil with basil and oregano for this recipe when I choose to add meat.

Which pasta is best for salad?

For the best pasta salad possible, stick with using dried pasta instead of fresh.

Choose short pasta shapes like fusilli, farfalle, rotini, macaroni and penne. Pasta with lots of nooks and crannies are ideal choices for pasta salad as they provide plenty of spaces to hold on to the dressing and herbs.

How do you keep pasta salad moist?

The key to a perfect pasta salad, and to keeping it nice and moist, you need to cook the pasta just right. If you overcook the pasta it will be too soft and very “thirsty”. If you don’t cook it enough the pasta won’t be able to absorb the dressing at all and dry out.

The key is to cook your pasta perfectly al dente.

Why does my Pasta Salad Taste Bland?

If your pasta salad tastes bland, it’s because you haven’t seasoned the pasta enough.

When you’re boiling the pasta, be sure you salt the water generously. Taste the dish frequently as you put it together and adjust the seasoning according to your taste.

Looking for more Easy Pasta Salads?

Check out some of my favourite pasta salads for dinner:

Bring delicious Italian flavours together in one easy side dish with this colourful antipasto pasta salad. Perfect for any occasion!

This Mexican Macaroni Salad recipe is a very versatile summer salad perfect for picnics and barbecues as as a tasty side dish.

This Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe features bow tie pasta and fresh ingredients for a summer salad or side dish that is full of flavour!

This Chicken and Pea Pasta Salad is a quick and easy dinner that makes for a great school lunch kids will actually eat!

How to Make Calabrese Pasta Salad from Scratch

 Makes: 4-6 servings | Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 375g of Pasta (I recommend Fusilletti, Fusilli or Rotini for this recipe.)
• 1/4 (50mL) plus 1 tbsp (15mL) Olive Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced.
• 2 tbsp each, fresh chopped basil & oregano OR 1 1/2 dried basil and oregano
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large purple onion, cut in 1 cm slices.  (Spanish Onion works just as well.)
• 1 Sweet Pepper (Red is best, but yellow or green works too) cored & seeded, coarsely chopped.
• 1 can (398 mL) Diced Plum Tomatoes, Well Drained
• 1/2 cup whole or sliced green olives.
• 1 cup crumbled Feta Cheese

Directions:

1. Prepare Pasta according to package instructions.
2. In a large bowl combine the 1/4 cup olive oil, minced garlic, herbs and ground pepper.
3. In a large skillet sear onion and sweet pepper in remaining 1/4 tbsp of oil over med high heat, stirring several times until slightly soft.
4. Add tomatoes to skillet and cook another 2 minutes until tomatoes are heated through.
5. Remove skillet from burner and add vegetables to oil-herb mixture.
6. Drain pasta, add to bowl with other ingredients.
7. Toss with Feta and Olives.  Add optional cooked meat* and combine well.
8. Serve immediately or allow to cool and serve as a cold pasta.