Faced with the task of bringing something to a potluck that was taking place in a campground, we opted for a dish that can be prepared in advance and served cold: pasta salad. Internet research turned up an excellent page on allrecipes.com, which gave a formula, with blanks to fill, rather than a recipe. It goes roughly like this:1. Cook one pound (or half-a-kilo) of bite-sized pasta -- penne, farfalle, whatever -- and cool it.
2. Prepare 2 pounds / 1 kg of "major" ingredients (although we made less than that, I think). These may include vegetables, such as asparagus, green beans, peppers, tomatoes, and almost any others, as well as chicken, sausage, ham, and seafood (shrimp, crab, lobster, tuna). Some of these can be boiled, sauteéd, or grilled. Go wild! Use three or more. (We boiled brocolli and zucchini, and used artichoke hearts from a can.)
3. Choose one or more "intense" ingredients: strong cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, olives, pine nuts, bacon, smoked salmon. Half-a-cup is sufficient.
4. "No matter what else is in your pasta salad, always add three large green onions, sliced, or half of a small red onion, diced." Parsley is always good, too.
5. Mix everything in with 1 cup of dressing. The basic vinaigrette recipe is just right (be sure to mix mustard with vinegar first!):
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard or mayonnaise
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- salt and black pepper
- 2/3 cup olive oil
Now, I am sure this "formula" offers more than one way to give birth to a monster (tuna with smoked salmon and bacon anyone?), but I suspect it has more good combinations in it than bad ones.