Pasta Salad, Hold the Mayo!

When you think pasta salad, it's time to get out the mayonnaise, right? Wrong! You have so many more options than you think! I had a friend ask me for recipes for pasta salads that aren't creamy. Since Chris won't eat mayonnaise, I've made quite a few over the years. I mentioned one of them in my second (and third for the corrections) blog entry, so for one pasta salad idea you can go back and look for that.

The simplest one I know is a mixture of pasta, olive oil, italian seasoning, peas, and Parmesan cheese together. Viola! This is very tasty and a snap to make. Proportions are according to your taste, of course.

One of my favorites is this Asian Pasta Salad that I developed a couple of years ago:

Asian Pasta Salad
Servings: 6

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
8 ounces small egg noodles, or other pasta, cooked according to package directions and cooled. 3 medium green onions, chopped fine
2 large carrots, diced or grated
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 medium radishes, julienned
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Combine the first five ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well to make the sauce.

Combine remaining ingredients in a salad bowl.

Pour the sauce over the pasta salad, only adding as much as you think you need and blend well.

Chill covered for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend.

Stir once more before serving to blend in the sauce that settled at the bottom.

Serving Ideas: This goes very well with cold salmon recipes, or you can add a can of salmon or some chicken to make it a meal on its own.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 322 Calories; 13g Fat (35.1% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 45g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 36mg Cholesterol; 248mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
Copyright 2007

I need to note that as I was telling Chris that I was blogging about this salad, he got really excited and asked if we could have that for lunch...so we did. Thus the pretty picture I've included.

Another one is very similar to the Mediterranean Salad previously mentioned in entry #2, but a little more complicated and sweeter. I've added Balsamic vinegar to this because it compliments the cranberries so nicely.

Mediterranean Pasta Salmon Salad
Servings: 4

8 ounces rotini, cooked as directed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
6 ounces canned salmon, drained
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup pine nuts, raw or toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 418 Calories; 17g Fat (36.5% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 36mg Cholesterol; 400mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat.
Copyright: 2008

Want them to be lower carb? Halve the noodles and add more vegetables. The Asian salad would be great with broccoli and/or cauliflower. The Mediterranean salad would do well as a lettuce salad, also, skipping the pasta altogether.

Here are other recipes that I've found scouring the web:

Lemon Basil Pasta Salad: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dan-smith-and-steve-mcdonagh/lemon-basil-pasta-salad-recipe/index.html

Marinated Beef and Pasta Salad: http://www.recipesource.com/fgv/salads/pasta/00/rec0040.html

Pesto Pasta Salad: http://elise.com/recipes/archives/001996pesto_pasta_salad.php