Creamy homemade pasta salad that’s great for making as a main or side dish. Bursting with slightly sweet and wonderfully sour flavors, it features a mayo dressing and some crunchy fresh veggies.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Italian, World

Ingredients

  • 1 cup ziti (or macaroni - 100 grams)
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or as required)
  • ⅓ cup capsicum ((green bell pepper) - finely chopped)
  • ½ cup carrots (- peeled and grated)
  • ⅓ cup onions (- finely chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon celery (minced or finely chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon parsley (- chopped)
  • 6 to 7 olives (green or black, optional)
  • 1 tablespoon parsley leaves (- chopped, for garnish)
  • 6 tablespoons mayonnaise (egg-free or vegan)
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • salt (as required)
  • ½ teaspoon sweet paprika (or red chilli powder, add as per taste)
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon raw sugar (or as required)

Method

Cooking pasta

  1. Bring heavily salted water to a boil in a large pot on high heat. When cooking pasta you want to include enough salt so that the water “tastes like the ocean”.
  2. Add ziti or your preferred small-to-medium sized pasta to the boiling water.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-high, so that the water continues boiling but does not bubble over. Stir the pasta in intervals and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions.
  4. The pasta should be al dente, or feel free to cook longer if you like a softer texture or are making a cold salad.
  5. Once cooked strain the pasta in a colander.
  6. For a cold salad, rinse the salad in fresh water or drizzle some oil on them and mix gently - to prevent the pasta from sticking.

Making mayo dressing

  1. Take the mayonnaise, extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, ground black pepper, sweet paprika, sugar and salt as per taste in a mixing bowl.
  2. Mix very well.
  3. Check the taste of the dressing and feel free to add more seasonings to suit your taste. You can add more sugar too.

Making pasta salad

  1. Add the cooked pasta.
  2. Add in the chopped veggies - onions, capsicum, carrots. Add the finely chopped celery, parsley and sliced olives if using. Note: If the onions taste too sharp, soak them in cold water for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce their pungency, or simply use less.
  3. Toss and combine well so that the pasta and veggies are coated with the mayo dressing.
  4. Garnish with parsley and serve right away while warm, or allow the pasta salad to cool before storing in the fridge to chill and enjoy cold.

Serving suggestions

  1. Serve pasta salad as a main dish with your preferred Italian-inspired sides.
  2. For a lighter meal serve with fresh vegetables - cucumber, radish, carrots or greens - like spinach or kale, either as a raw salad or steamed.
  3. Pasta salad is great for brunch or an afternoon lunch, or even as a hearty snack between meals.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.