Pasta Salad

This is a simple pasta salad that encourages creativity. If you follow the quantities suggested, you will have a good pasta salad: if you adjust ingredients to your taste you can end up with a great salad. Don't be afraid to experiment.

Most of the vegetables should be sliced into thin small pieces. Quarter the carrot and slice the celery stick in half lengthwise before slicing them crosswise. I like to cut the green pepper and red onion into slightly larger pieces (about 1/4" square) because this provides a little more contrast for color and texture.

INGREDIENTS

1 stick of celery
3 or 4 green onions
3 T red onion
1/4 sweet green pepper
1 carrot
1 hot red or yellow pepper (or one of each) minced
12 to 15 pimiento-stuffed green olives
3 to 4 T olive oil
1 to 2 T fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 T wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/2 to 1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. thyme
Salt to taste
12 ounces rotini

PROCEDURE

Put 3 to 4 quarts water in a pot and put on to heat. While the water is heating, begin chopping the vegetables. When the water begins boiling, add 1 teaspoon salt and the rotini. Add the rotini gradually so as not to cool the water too much. Stir the rotini 2 or 3 times while it cooks to keep it from sticking to the pot or clumping together. You can finish chopping vegetables while the rotini cooks. After 8 or 9 minutes, use a fork to remove a rotini and test for doneness. It will be done when the starch taste of uncooked flour is gone, but when the rotini offers a slight resistance when you bite through it. The Italians call this "al dente."

When the pasta is done, drain it thoroughly and put it in a mixing bowl. Add about 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the vegetables. Toss to mix thoroughly. Add the lemon juice, vinegar and spices. Toss again. Let sit for 3 or 4 minutes, taste and adjust flavor. You can serve this salad immediately, but it improves if allowed to sit for an hour or two while the flavors blend.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Use reconstituted lemon juice for fresh.
Use several dashes of Tabasco sauce if you don't have hot peppers.
Omit either the green or red onion, but adjust total quantity to taste.

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS

When the pasta salad is cool, you can add about 1/4 cup of diced sharp cheddar cheese or hard sausage like pepperoni or cervelot. This salad is a lot like a soup: Use what you have and adjust the ingredients to create a salad that pleases you and your guests. Feel free to add more olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice.