Pasta Salad, Hold the Pasta
A more flavorful, versatile summer nosh. Bonus: it keeps the heat out of your kitchen.
Every summer, the corporate recipe world floods social media with the whole “We tried four famous pasta salad recipes, and this one is the BEST!”
Please spare me the rerun. The renditions are nearly identical, and the recipe “creators” are clickbaiters or on-camera personalities from an irrelevant decade (minus Ina Garten; I love Ina Garten). But we can do better, my friends.
Chickpeas with pops of tomato and pickled peppers coated in herby dressing and dotted with sweet cheese turn modest beans into a main event. Add it to your summer barbecue spread, and you will endure less guilt over the ice cream.
The Back Story
No one who can afford it should eat dried white pasta by the bowlful. Its flavor is uninteresting, unlike fresh pasta from your favorite Italian joint. The refined wheat is nutritionally inferior, and new research confirms as much (abstract here). When mixed with too-large chunks of vegetables and an ill-contrived dressing, chaos in a bowl ensues. And who wants to light the stove fires when the outdoors feels like the inside of an oven?
So don't. This hearty salad is heat-free and only requires a little chopping and a quick vinaigrette that puts Olive Garden’s to shame. Thanks to creamy fontina and wisps of prosciutto, it is a rainbow of fiber and antioxidants disguised by restrained indulgence. Enjoy it next to chicken wings, under grilled fish, or on top of crisp greens.
Heck, stuff it into a pretzel bun if you dare (it is a holiday weekend, after all).
Briny vegetables and beans at the ready.
Beans, Beans…
Garbanzo beans are sturdy and stand up to their saladmates with a denser, satisfying bite. Softer, creamy types like cannellini beans can cave under pressure (literally). But use what you have and like; just mix gently. Starchy legumes absorb the flavor of the dressing over time, making this salad one that, like soup, wine, and women, gets better with age. Make it a day or two ahead and reap the reward of a lightning-fast lunch or easy, breezy hosting.
But I don’t like beans… If you despise beans, consider cauliflower. Steamed florets will change the salad's personality but still get you to a delicious finish. Roasted or crumbled tofu is a protein-filled option. The soybean curds slurp up marinades like little kids with rapidly melting gelato.
On Ham & Salami in Salads (and in general)
Perhaps an occupational hazard, but when I see conventional ham, all I can think of are the poor, mistreated pigs and cancer-implicated salts used to cure their meat. The result is a pronounced salinity that masks the reason to enjoy pork in the first place: the animal’s omnivorous diet.
Instead, most ham is a sodium silo. Curing salts do helpfully inhibit the growth of deadly bacteria (i.e., botulism) and extend shelf life. But it seems we are enjoying too much of a good thing.
Nowadays, many scream “nitrate-free!” from the case, but consumers be warned. The FDA allows processors to add plant-based nitrites from celery for antimicrobial purposes. However, these “uncured” deli meats can contain higher levels than their synthetically-cured counterparts.
The good news is you can enjoy delicious cured ham in any dish without ingesting either.
Enter: Prosciutto.
Smart Shopping
Prosciutto di Parma or Ibérico. The ingredients listed on the package should be only pork and salt. In Spain and Italy, producers of the feathery slices preserve ham the old-fashioned way with time and sea salt. Both can induce sticker shock. Look for sales or buy in bulk if you have a favorite wholesaler. The sole purpose of salt curing is longevity, so it is unlikely to go bad before you eat it all. You can always freeze it.
Kalamata olives. Not all black olives are kalamata. Be sure the label reads accordingly for the signature smoothness and meaty texture. Buy the sliced ones and save a step in the prep (same with the peppers and sundried tomatoes).
Chickpeas. A no-salt-added or low-sodium can, full stop. If you can’t find one, drain and rinse the beans well, and don’t add salt to the salad or dressing until it is mixed and you taste it.
Fontina. A cow’s milk cheese from herds that graze on Alpine mountain pasture. True fontina valle d’aosta bears the Designation of Origin from Italy (DOP). Several stateside artisans produce fontina-style cheese worthy of an official stamp. If you don’t want to splurge on cheese with a title, provolone or mozzarella offers a similar texture and sweet, milky flavor.
Chef’s Tips
Measure the salad ingredients poorly. I include specific amounts because I would be an awful recipe writer if I didn’t. But this isn’t baking; add more of what you like and less of what you don’t. Make the salad yours, and you will enjoy it even more.
Adjust the oil for your vinegar. The acidity and flavor will vary depending on the age and quality of your red wine vinegar. With younger, punchier vinegar, a three-to-one ratio reigns in the tartness. Less oil allows an aged vinegar's musky but delicate flavor to shine.
Get all the flavors in every bite. One problem with salad - pasta or otherwise - is that many cooks neglect to chop every ingredient so it all fits on the fork. It might be a silly chef thing, but I don’t know many who would argue that a lone bite of cucumber tastes better than one with a bit of cheese, pickled pepper, and ham. Perfection is not the key. But try to chop each vegetable small enough so every bite boasts every ingredient.
Edible Epilogue
If you become nauseous just thinking of beans like my seven-year-old, consider swapping the chickpeas for pasta made from chickpea flour (said bean hater gobbles it up, none the wiser). Modern processing - for better or worse - makes a pretty good non-wheat noodle. And pasta from whole grains or legumes is mild in flavor and a bit more redeeming than white pasta. Aptly suited for shaving the shame off that second summer cocktail.
Eat + be well,
Christina
Marinated Chickpea Salad with Creamy Italian Vinaigrette
This salad is even better on the second day or after a few hours of marination.
Takes about 15 minutes to make and serves a crowd.
Two 14-ounce cans of low-sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved (any direction)
4 to 6 ounces of fontina, cut into quarter-inch cubes
1 medium red bell pepper, roughly minced
½ cup of sliced kalamata olives
⅓ cup of julienne (thinly sliced) sundried tomatoes
2 to 4 pepperoncini or banana peppers, stems removed and sliced thin
4 to 5 slices of prosciutto, torn into small pieces, optional
¼ teaspoon of flake salt and ground black pepper (to your taste)
Fresh basil or Italian parsley leaves, chopped, optional
Italian Vinaigrette
⅔ to ¾ cup of olive oil
¼ cup of red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of any mustard
1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of dried dill
¼ teaspoon of flake kosher salt or sea salt
Method
Prep the beans and vegetables. Please return to the ingredient list and prepare all the salad components as stated 😄, except the fresh herbs (save them for right before serving). Add the ingredients to a large mixing bowl as you slice and dice. Reserve a handful of torn prosciutto for garnish. Gently stir them together once all have joined the party.
Mix the vinaigrette. Measure the oil into a glass with a spout. Whisk the vinegar, honey, mustard, mayonnaise, minced garlic, and garlic powder in a small bowl or add to a blender. Slowly drizzle in half the oil while whisking constantly or running the blender on low. Taste the dressing, and add more oil until the flavors are balanced (not too oily or sour). Stir in the dried herbs and salt.
Dress the salad. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and stir gently to coat it all. Taste the salad and add more salt or black pepper if you like. Cover and marinate for at least four hours, if possible, or up to a day ahead. Add chopped fresh herbs right before serving and garnish with the reserved wisps of prosciutto.