Rachael Ray’s 1-Ingredient Trick for Better, More Flavorful Pasta Salad

Rachael Ray is understood for fast and simple recipes that repeatedly ship, and her pasta salad recipe seemed to suit that invoice precisely. It requires simply three steps — prepare dinner the pasta, make the dressing, then toss with the mix-ins — and it doesn’t require any chill time earlier than serving.

Regardless of its simplicity, there have been nonetheless two fascinating issues that stood out to me. The primary is that the dressing is made in a meals processor with vegetable inventory. It’s not unusual to make use of water in salad dressing, however I had by no means used inventory earlier than and puzzled how it could style. The second is that the recipe requires cubanelle peppers, roasted purple peppers, and pepperoncini. I like all three, however puzzled whether or not this recipe would style an excessive amount of like pepper salad reasonably than pasta salad. Right here’s what I discovered once I examined it. 

Get the recipe: Rachael Ray’s Italian Pasta Salad

Cook dinner the pasta in keeping with bundle directions in a big pot of salted water. Drain the pasta in a colander, then add to a big bowl. Add the garlic, parsley, vegetable inventory, and purple wine vinegar to the bowl of a meals processor and pulse a number of occasions. With the motor working, add the olive oil till clean. Pour the dressing over the pasta together with the provolone, purple peppers, cubanelle peppers, purple onion, and pepperoncini, and toss to mix. 

You already know the pasta salad you get at a deli? Effectively, that is just about it. It’s obtained a pleasant tang, due to an ample quantity of purple wine vinegar that balances properly with all of the add-ins. Utilizing vegetable inventory within the dressing added a ton of taste — I’ll positively be utilizing this trick in future pasta salads!

I’ll say my hesitation concerning the quantity of peppers was spot-on. I liked the roasted purple peppers and pepperoncini, however I discovered three cubanelle peppers to be a bit an excessive amount of. Subsequent time, I’ll depart them out and use a distinct vegetable (or possibly salami!) as an add-in. And whereas I like cavatappi, it doesn’t really feel like the suitable noodle right here. Cavatappi is finest when there’s a sauce that may cling to its curves, and in pasta salad, it simply feels bare. 

Have you ever tried Rachael Ray’s pasta salad? Tell us within the feedback!