Pasta salads are especially popular in summer: They are easy to prepare, taste delicious and are ideal as a cold side dish for picnics or barbecues. Depending on your own preference, such salads can be modified with pasta and ingredients of your choice, as well as herbs, spices or dressings.
The preparation is usually quick and uncomplicated. Often, however, mistakes are made while cooking the pasta, which can affect the taste of the dish. Even with seasoning or salad dressing, a lot can be done wrong. These are six typical mistakes that are made with pasta salad.
Pasta too short or too long
In order for a pasta salad to be a complete success, the right type of pasta should be selected first. The noodles should be bite-sized and neither too small nor too big so that they can be eaten with a fork without any problems. Cellentani, Fusilli, Orecchiette or Spirelli, for example, are suitable.
It is better not to use hollow noodles as they may still contain water after cooking, which could water down the salad.
Unsalted pasta water
Even if the pasta salad is seasoned later and a dressing is added, the pasta used for this should not be cooked in unsalted water. The dish tastes better if you salt the pasta water and the taste can spread throughout the dough of the pasta.
Pasta that is too soft
For pasta salads, it is best to cook the pasta one minute shorter than usual or stated on the packaging. This prevents the dish from becoming too soft. It also makes it easier to skewer the pasta with a fork. If you want to be on the safe side that the pasta has a bit of bite, you should briefly rinse it off with cold water after draining. As a result, they cool down faster and don’t get mushy. It is important that the pasta still retains a certain warmth.
Let cool for too long
If you only prepare the pasta salad when the noodles have cooled down completely, they will not be able to absorb the taste of the other ingredients as well. Herbs and spices in particular benefit from this when the pasta is still a little warm. The heat ensures that the aromas can be released better.
Choose wrong dressing
In terms of taste, the right or wrong dressing is of course a matter of opinion. On hot summer days, however, it is better to avoid mayonnaise if you do not consume the pasta salad in a timely manner. The high temperatures cause bacteria to multiply particularly quickly, which is why not every sauce is equally suitable. Since there is egg in mayonnaise, it spoils easily and there is even a risk of salmonella poisoning if the sauce is exposed to heat for a long time and then consumed.
Ikea reveals recipe for the popular Köttbullar
The well-kept secret is out: Ikea publishes the recipe for the popular Köttbullar. You can now make the meatballs yourself at home.
The well-kept secret is out: Ikea publishes the recipe for the popular Köttbullar. You can now make the meatballs yourself at home.
Here is the recipe
Vinegar, oil or pesto are better as a base for a dressing in such cases. After all, nobody wants to get stomach pain or, in the worst case, even poisoning after eating the salad.
Serve straight from the fridge
If possible, the pasta salad should not be served straight out of the refrigerator. It should be allowed to warm to room temperature for around twenty minutes before it is eaten. This is because the aromas are less noticeable when it is cold. If in doubt, you should therefore season pasta salads a little more.
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