Ever stuck in a situation where the weather is unbearably hot to cook anything elaborate but you want to enjoy more than just a toasted bread for a meal? How about a comforting bowl of pasta instead? Yum right !! Taking a smart route today and making a quick, easy peasy cold pasta salad which can be fixed in 15 minutes flat and can be made ahead of time ! Presenting Cold Pasta Salad with Yogurt Sauce.
I am a big pasta lover… give me pasta daily and i would never complain. I am always hunting for ideas to concoct a new flavour pairing or create interesting sauces which would make my pasta shine. My all time favorite is my Creamy Tomato Pasta. This time though, i decided to take a new route. The inspiration came from this one pasta salad which i tried a couple of weeks back.
I was visiting a friend and she served this one cold pasta salad which looked pretty much like the one i have here to share with you all.
She served it as an appetizer but i ended up stuffing myself with it. It was delicious to core !! Today, as i was boiling pasta to make myself some, i thought of re-creating her recipe. I quickly gave her a call and she told me that she had just mixed a couple of Mayo and ranch dressings to make the base. It sounded really easy to make but since i do not like to use calorie laden Mayo, i felt a little dis-heartened. With a slight disappointment, i gave up the idea of a cold salad and opened the refrigerator to take out tomatoes for marinara sauce. Right in front of me, was a tub of Greek yogurt. Ah, i got the perfect idea to re-create the magic on a healthy note.
Cold pasta salad with yogurt sauce
Cold pasta salad with yogurt sauce
Ingredients
- dried pasta – 500 gms
- Water for boiling the pasta
- bell peppers (red/ yellow/ orange or mixed, finely chopped)- 1 cup
- corn kernels- 1/2 cup , boiled
- spring onion- 1/2 cup , finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Yogurt Dressing
- Greek yogurt or hung yogurt- 1 cup
- salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- onion powder- 1 tsp
- garlic powder- 1 tsp
- parsley- 1 tablespoon , finely chopped
- vinegar- 2 tsp
- Olive oil- 1 tablespoon
- Dijon mustard- 1 tsp
- honey- 1 tablespoon
Method
- Boil a pot of water and to it add in some salt and the uncooked pasta. Boil till al-dente. Drain and keep aside.
- Now, we will prepare the yogurt dressing. In a bowl, add in all the ingredients for the dressing and mix well till homogeneous.
- For assembling the salad, pour the dressing over cooked pasta. Add in the chopped bell peppers, corn kernels and spring onions. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. Mix well.
- Refrigerate for atleast an hour before serving. Serve cold.
Isn’t that too good now to ignore?
I prepared just a little this first time as i was not sure if my family would approve of it but not only did they love it, i was told to make it again the next day 🙂 I am now totally spiked to try out more flavor pairings for cold pasta salads.
This looks stunning! I love the farfalle, they create such a wonderful texture!
Thank u so very much ! Yes this salad is delicious and best to eat during summer hot days 🙂 I love Farfalle too !
Hot Summer what?! Haven’t seen the sun in weeks – it’s been one torrential downpour after another here in London. Today’s bbq had to be grilled in the oven …
haha.. well California is hot at the moment and we are craving the cold winds just a little 😛 Let me send some sunshine to u then 🙂
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