This is a great summer salad recipe. I have borrowed it, again, from my friend Jude, who indicated in her cookbook that it came from the Bon Appetit August 1991 issue. I like both its texture, the variety of ingredients, and the spicy and sweet combination. It is made with regular pasta, but gluten-free pasta can be used. I have made this salad at least 30 times, for groups ranging from 4 to 20 and I have never heard anybody be disappointed.
One of my fondest memories of making this salad dates back to the time when I was the caterer on my daughter Elza’s second feature, Go In The Wilderness, during the summer of 2011. The film shoot lasted 5 weeks. I made this salad for a crew of 20, and each week they wanted me to prepare it again!
Curried Pasta Salad
October 17, 2016
Category
Recipes
Salads
Side dishes
Persons
6
Prep Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 garlic clove, quartered
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup packed stemmed fresh Italian parsley
- 1/4 cup lemon jice
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 red onion, peeled, finely chopped
- 1 cup sliced pitted Kalamata olives
- 2/3 cup dried currants (dried cranberries can also be used)
- 2/3 cup toasted pine nuts (toasted, shelled almonds can also be used)
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup oil
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a lage pot of boiling salted water until al dente, drain, rinse under cold water, drain well and transfer to a large bowl
- Blend garlic and salt to a paste in a food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl (or crush garlic and mash it down with the salt using a fork or spoon)
- Add the parsley to the food processor and mince
- Blend in lemon juice, vinegar, curry, sugar, cumin and pepper
- With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube in a thin steady stream (the amount of oil you will use varies according to taste; I prefer to start with a bit less oil, then I add more later after the dressing has been mixed with the pasta, if I feel that it needs more oil)
- Pour dressing over pasta and mix
- If using toasted almonds, first shell them by dropping them in hot water for up to 5 minutes, then shell, then dry the almonds and dry-fry them at medium heat in a frying pan with a heavy bottom, tossing them constantly until they turn slightly brown, for about 10-15 minutes; they should not be allowed to burn
- Add onions, olives, currants and almonds to pasta and toss
- Season with pepper
- Cover and refrigetare until chilled, about two hours
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bravo, a delicious recipe that I have made and it came out perfectly!
curry that looks good and tasty!