Main Dish Delish Summer Pasta Salad
1 box pasta (rotini is best, but mini penne works too)
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 large cucumber, cut into quarters, then chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped finely
1 cup vegan Italian dressing
1/4 cup Vegenaise
1 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly cracked pepper, to taste
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
This is adapted from a rotini, tuna fish, and mini shrimp salad my mother-in-law makes. I've veganized it by modifying the dressing, eliminating the seafood and adding mashed chickpeas instead. It's a quick and easy dinner for those hot summer nights when you don't want to eat something hot!
Cook pasta according to box. While pasta is cooking, wash and chop the celery, pepper, cucumber, tomato, and onion. You want nice chunks of the veggies.
After pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse under cold water to cool the pasta. I also take the empty cooking pot and run it under cold water so that the pot can cool down and I can use it to mix the pasta salad.
After pasta is drained well, return to cooled pot. Add chopped veggies.
Next, whisk together the Italian dressing, Vegenaise, Dijon mustard, dill weed, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add to pasta and veggies.
Finally, mash your chickpeas with a potato masher until crumbly. Add chickpeas to pasta and veggies and mix well.
Enjoy!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
i used this recipe as a base for a really simple pasta salad. i wanted to use veganaise and Italian dressing, and this was the first one i came across that used both.
i modified it to my taste, though. the first time i made it i used two different shapes of veggie pastas (curly q's and bowties), orange bell pepper, tomato, onion. celery, Italian dressing, veganaise, dill, salt & pepper, and Dijon mustard. i followed the measurements of this recipe, and i thought it was pretty good, but i could taste a lot of mustard (where i wanted to taste more mayo). the boyfriend isn't a big pasta salad person because he doesn't like the "crunchies" (celery, onion... basically anything but pasta.. haha).
the second time around (pictured), i just used bowtie pasta, 1/2 scant cup veganaise, 3/4 cup Italian dressing, and 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard, about half the onion + celery the recipe calls for, salt, pepper, and dill. I'm sure chickpeas would have been lovely in this... but i didn't want to add them in this time. it's also much better after refridgerating overnight so the veganaise can set back up properly, so make it the night before you want to eat it.
I made a really simplified version of this, but i loved it... and it will surely become a staple for me :)
Très bon! I made this Wednesday, it is now Sunday and we're still eating it! It makes quite a bit and it is very versatile. I made it as posted, except for the beans (and I used tri-colored corkscrews). I was out of garbanzos so I used great northerns. We ate it like that for 2 days and then added some black olives and mild banana peppers to change it up some! I'll try to get the photo downloaded and posted soon. It is also a very pretty salad with all the colors, though I doubt my photo did it any justice. :)
Your picture made me put this in my recipe box. It looks delicious.
Mmm! This was great. I used whole wheat penne, a big 30 oz can of chickpeas (I was just going to use half, but ended up throwing it all in), and added extra dressing (with extra nayonaise and a little lemon juice). Cheap, healthy, and it goes a long ways! :)
Très bon! I made this Wednesday, it is now Sunday and we're still eating it! It makes quite a bit and it is very versatile. I made it as posted, except for the beans (and I used tri-colored corkscrews). I was out of garbanzos so I used great northerns. We ate it like that for 2 days and then added some black olives and mild banana peppers to change it up some! I'll try to get the photo downloaded and posted soon. It is also a very pretty salad with all the colors, though I doubt my photo did it any justice. :)
Oops that should read 1 can of chickpeas, not 2. Although 2 might work, too! 8)
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