이탈리안 파스타 샐러드
This is a big, colorful bowl of spiral pasta tossed with crisp vegetables, cubes of fresh mozzarella and salami, and a bright, garlicky red-wine-vinegar Italian dressing. Every bite is tangy and herby with a little chew from the pasta and a briny pop from olives and pepperoncini. Making the dressing from scratch and letting the salad chill lets the pasta drink in the flavor, so it tastes seasoned all the way through instead of bland in the middle.
Boil 1 lb (454 g) rotini in well-salted water until just past al dente, drain, and rinse under cold water so it stops cooking and won't clump; meanwhile whisk a homemade Italian dressing of 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, grated garlic, Dijon, honey, dried oregano and basil, salt, pepper, and a pinch of chili flakes; dice cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, halve cherry tomatoes, and cube fresh mozzarella and salami; toss everything with the drained pasta, olives, and pepperoncini, pour over the dressing, fold in torn basil and shaved Parmesan, then chill at least 1 hour, re-toss with a splash of reserved dressing, and adjust salt before serving.
- Rinse the cooked pasta cold and dress it while barely damp so it soaks up the vinaigrette instead of gluing together.
- Hold back about a quarter of the dressing to revive the salad after chilling, since the pasta drinks a lot of it.
- Salt aggressively at the end: cold food tastes flat, so it needs more seasoning than you'd expect.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Colander
- Chef's knife
- Cutting board
- Large mixing bowl
- Mason jar or whisk
재료
Pasta & Vegetables
- 454 g rotini or fusilli pasta, dry
- 300 g cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
- 70 g small red onion, finely diced
- 120 g sliced black olives, drained
- 75 g pepperoncini, sliced, optional
Cheese & Meat
- 225 g fresh mozzarella pearls, or cubed low-moisture mozzarella
- 150 g Genoa salami, cubed or quartered slices
- 30 g Parmesan, shaved or grated
- 15 g fresh basil, torn, or flat-leaf parsley
Italian Dressing
- 180 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 80 ml red wine vinegar
- garlic cloves, grated or minced
- 5 g Dijon mustard
- 7 g honey, or granulated sugar
- 2 g dried oregano
- 1 g dried basil
- red pepper flakes, optional
- 6 g fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
조리법
- 단계01
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the rotini and cook until just past al dente, about 1 minute longer than the package suggests, since chilling firms it up. Drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water until the pasta is cool and no longer sticky, then shake off the excess.
- 단계02
In a mason jar or bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, grated garlic, Dijon, honey, dried oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Seal and shake hard (or whisk) until the dressing looks cloudy and emulsified. Taste and adjust the vinegar or salt so it tastes pleasantly sharp on its own.
- 단계03
Halve the tomatoes, dice the cucumber, bell pepper, and red onion, and slice the pepperoncini. Drain the olives. Cube the mozzarella and salami into bite-size pieces and tear the basil. Keep everything roughly the same size so each forkful gets a bit of each.
- 단계04
Tip the cooled pasta into a large mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, olives, pepperoncini, mozzarella, and salami. Toss gently with your hands or two spoons to distribute before dressing.
- 단계05
Give the dressing another shake and pour about three-quarters of it over the salad, reserving the rest. Fold everything together until glossy and evenly coated. Add most of the basil and Parmesan, then taste and correct with salt and pepper.
- 단계06
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight, so the pasta absorbs the dressing and the flavors marry. The salad will look drier as it sits, which is normal.
- 단계07
Just before serving, drizzle over the reserved dressing and toss again to loosen the salad. Taste one more time, adjust salt, and scatter the last of the basil and Parmesan on top.
Make ahead
Ideal for making ahead: assemble the full salad up to 24 hours in advance and keep it chilled, holding back a little dressing to revive it. To prep even further out, cook and oil the pasta, chop the vegetables, and shake up the dressing separately, then combine within a couple hours of serving so the vegetables stay crisp.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The pasta keeps absorbing dressing, so refresh with a spoonful of olive oil or a splash of vinegar and a pinch of salt before serving leftovers. Not suitable for freezing.
Variations
Vegetarian antipasto
Skip the salami and add a drained 14 oz (400 g) can of chickpeas plus a jar of quartered marinated artichoke hearts. It stays hearty and turns the salad fully vegetarian.
Bottled-dressing shortcut
No time to whisk? Swap in about 1 cup (240 ml) of a good store-bought zesty Italian dressing. Start with three-quarters, chill, then add the rest to taste before serving.
Gluten-free
Use a sturdy corn-and-rice gluten-free rotini and rinse it very well in cold water to wash off extra starch, which keeps GF pasta from turning gummy as it chills.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
자주 묻는 질문
Can I use store-bought dressing instead of making my own?
Absolutely. A pasta salad with Italian dressing from a bottle is a classic shortcut, and it works well here. Use roughly 1 cup (240 ml), add most of it before chilling, and keep the rest to toss in right before serving so the salad doesn't taste dry.
Why does my pasta salad taste dry after chilling?
Cooked pasta keeps soaking up liquid as it sits, so a salad that looked perfectly dressed can turn dry in the fridge. That's exactly why this recipe holds back about a quarter of the dressing to add at the end, plus a final taste for salt, which cold food always needs more of.
What pasta shape works best?
Short, ridged, or curly shapes are ideal because they trap dressing and hold the add-ins. Rotini, fusilli, farfalle (bow-tie), and penne all work great. Avoid long strands like spaghetti, which don't fork up well with chopped vegetables.
How far in advance can I make it?
You can build the whole salad up to a day ahead. In fact, a couple hours in the fridge improves it because the pasta absorbs the Italian dressing and the flavors settle. Just refresh it with the reserved dressing and a pinch of salt right before it hits the table.
How do I keep the mozzarella and vegetables from getting watery?
Pat the mozzarella dry and seed the cucumber and tomatoes if they're very juicy. Rinsing the pasta cold and draining it well also helps. If you're prepping far ahead, keep the tomatoes and cucumber separate and fold them in shortly before serving.
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