I looked up this recipe solely for the dressing. This makes a lovely red vinegar dressing. I use it with cold cooked pasta and a meat such as crabmeat or tuna. Very tastey.
I made this according to recipe, only using all red pepper because none of us care for green bell pepper. I agree with other reviewers that the dressing really should be doubled if you plan on chilling it all day, which I did not. Just a couple hours was all I had today. I think if I make this again, I'd double the spices (salt excluded) and I'd add chopped tomatoes. As is, it's a very tasty salad!
Plan ahead to make this one. Note the 8 hour chilling. Good for potlucks it makes a large bowl of salad. Lots of ingredients some of which you won t have on hand. I bought some exclusively for this. Gets pricey too if you don t have some of the stuff. I did have quite a few things. Very colorful with the meat cheese and veggies so don t substitute or omit and ruin that. Cut the cost a little by using a couple of ounces less of sliced pepperoni provolone and olives. Instead of chunks cut pizza size pepperoni slices into quarters and provolone slices first into strips then cut again into inch squares. Only a 2 oz. can of sliced olives drained is needed. I used only a red onion. There was still plenty of everything to distribute thru the salad. Will make again.
Sorry everyone but I only made the dressing in this recipe and it was good! I did add about a teaspoon of honey to get rid of the bitter taste!! Great dressing!
I also only made the dressing in this recipe but it is wonderful. Good balance of oil vingegar and spices. I only substituted ground dried mustard instead of the ground mustard seed b/c that's what I had in the spice cabinet. When I make pasta salad I just use up whatever I happen to have in the fridge!
Pretty good pasta salad. I did change a couple things. I omitted the cucumbers and black olives (per our preference) I also chopped the vegetables & onion instead of slicing (more evenly distributes the flavors) and I used roasted red peppers (chopped), for more flavor and used balsamic vinegar in place of the red wine. Stable base recipe, that is easy to play with to suite tastes.
This is a very beautiful very delicious salad! I didn't change a thing. It was a HIT at the baby shower I threw. Prep time was much longer than what it said because of all the chopping. Save some of the dressing for later just in case the salad dries out.
I followed the recipe with the exception of two items I didn't have; the cucumber and mustard seed. I used some mustard powder instead. I thought the dressing was very good. One recommendation I have is to make this the day before you plan on serving and to double the dressing. The pasta did absorb the taste better by the next day but it was dry. I also would add more salt & pepper. It tasted a little bland. I added halved cherry tomatoes to mine. It was very good. Just need a little tweaking.
The best pasta salad I have ever had. The dressing, I think, is what makes this dish so good! I used turkey and ham instead of pepperoni and mozzerella instead of provolone. It was still very very good. I took it to a potluck and I came home with an empty bowl. I will make this again and again.
The dressing is delicious!! And my friends LOVED this salad. Though I didn't use the mustard seeds.
