Pasta salad comes out dry because the pasta was dressed while hot. Hot pasta absorbs the dressing and half an hour later there is none left on the plate. The boiled pasta has to be rinsed in cold water to take off its starch, then cooled, then dressed. Boil it a minute short as well, because it carries on softening as the salad stands.
Ingredients
For the salad
For the sauce
Method
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Boil the pasta
Boil in plenty of salted water for 1 minute less than the packet says. It carries on softening as the salad stands.
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Rinse it
Drain and rinse under cold water until the starch has gone.
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Cool it
Leave in the colander for 10 minutes to cool completely. Hot pasta drinks the dressing.
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Prepare the vegetables
Dice the cucumber, tomato and pepper. Take the seeds out of the tomato, as the juice waters the salad down.
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Whisk the dressing
Whisk the olive oil, lemon, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and mint until smooth.
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Combine
Toss the cold pasta, vegetables, sweetcorn and olives together in a bowl.
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Dress it
Pour over the dressing, add the parsley and mix gently.
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Rest it
Leave in the fridge for 20 minutes and serve.
Tips
- Do not dress the pasta while it is hot; it drinks the dressing and is dry within half an hour.
- Do not skip rinsing it cold, as pasta with starch left on sticks together.
- Take the seeds out of the tomato. The seed liquid turns the salad into a pool within two hours.
- Do not dress it long before serving; in a salad that stands four hours the vegetables release their liquid.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.