Pasta Salad With Pickled Red Onion Recipes

THE ULTIMATE PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Toss chilled pasta with the broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, garlic, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, olives, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

ARUGULA SALAD WITH PICKLED RED ONIONS AND CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• For the salad: Combine the white vinegar, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and then add the onions. Return the liquid to a simmer, then take off the heat and let stand 15 minutes; drain.
• Put the arugula in a large salad bowl and add a few of the pickled onions and all of the cherry tomatoes; toss to combine. (Reserve the remaining pickled onions for another use.)
• For the vinaigrette: Combine the olive oil, Champagne vinegar, honey, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a mason jar and shake vigorously until emulsified.
• Add just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat the salad and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The remaining vinaigrette can be kept refrigerated up to 1 week.

TEXAS-STYLE POTATO SALAD WITH MUSTARD AND PICKLED RED ONIONS

Steps:

• Bring the vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until the sugar and salt dissolves, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool for 10 minutes. Add the onions and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Drain the onions through a strainer into a bowl and reserve the pickling liquid.
• Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water by 2 inches and add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until a knife inserted into the center of the potatoes meets with no resistance. Drain the potatoes well, let cool slightly (but not all the way) and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices.
• Transfer the warm potatoes to a large bowl. Add the eggs, pickled onions and red peppers. Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustards, a few tablespoons of the pickling liquid and season with salt and pepper. Add the dressing and parsley to the warm potatoes and gently mix to combine; season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve chilled.

QUICK AND EASY PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, 6 to 10 minutes (check the package for recommended cook time). Drain and rinse well under cold water.
• While the pasta cooks, in the bottom of a large bowl, make the dressing. Whisk the red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, pepperoncini juice (if using), and the olive oil until blended. Add the drained and rinsed pasta to the dressing and mix well.
• Stir in the bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, scallions, pepperoncini (if using), olives, parmesan, mozzarella, and the herbs (if using). Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Serve or for the best results, cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days.

PICKLED RED ONIONS

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a saucepan.
• Stuff onion slices into a pint-size Mason jar. Pour some of the boiling water over the onions. Let rest for 10 seconds. Pour out water through a mesh strainer, keeping onions in the jar. Repeat twice more to cook onions slightly.
• Measure vinegar into a bowl. Stir in salt and sugar until dissolved. Add peppercorns. Pour vinegar solution over onions. Seal and shake well.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving so that the flavor develops.

PICKLED TOMATO SALAD

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine tomatoes, green pepper, onion and basil; set aside. In a saucepan, bring remaining ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pickling spices; cool to room temperature. Pour over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

QUICK-PICKLED VEGETABLE SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare the pickled onions: Set the sliced onion in a small heatproof bowl. Combine the vinegar, sugar, coriander seeds (if using), salt and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high, then pour over onions. Stir to combine, let cool, then transfer onions and brine to a lidded container. Refrigerate until chilled. (Makes about 2/3 cup drained onions. Onions will keep up to 3 weeks.)
• Prepare the salad: In a medium bowl, combine the celery, carrots, olive oil, lemon zest and juice. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
• When ready to serve, add the lettuce, radishes (if using) and herbs to a large bowl, season lightly with salt and pepper and gently toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the celery and carrots to the vegetables in the large bowl, leaving the vinaigrette behind in the medium bowl.
• To the vinaigrette, add the mustard, 1/4 cup drained pickled red onions and 4 teaspoons of the pickled red onion brine and stir to combine; season to taste. Add vinaigrette to salad, toss to coat and season. Serve immediately.

PICKLED RED ONIONS

Steps:

• Bring a kettle of water to a boil.
• In a bowl, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepercorns.
• Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Place onion slices in a colander.
• Pour boiling water over the onion slices and drain well.
• (This wilts the onions slightly and allows them to absorb the marinade).
• Transfer the onions to the bowl with marinade and mix to coat the onions thoroughly.
• Cover and marinate several hours or overnight in the refrigerator.