Patrick's Artichoke Pasta Salad
"This recipe is truly a "scratch" one but, after your culinary efforts, your guests will be mightily pleased to have tasted a pasta salad that is bright, new, and delicious. You will not find this recipe anywhere else because it took me about 6 months to develop it and I have only posted it HERE on Recipezaar! I wanted a pasta salad that used an Italian-based dressing and which packed a LOT of flavor, slightly creamy. Through much research, a few false starts and, blind luck, I got the pasta salad that I wanted. It's fairly easy to put together but it does take some time. It's great for a covered dish or as a side dish to either fried chicken or pork chops. I plan to use it for summer barbecues as well. And, once again, I have to thank Dee514 for her spectacular Italian Spice Blend recipe (Recipe #38293) which I have listed in the directions and which is an integral ingredient. For SAINT PATRICK'S DAY, use all GREEN PASTA (spinach pasta)! I hope you enjoy this pasta salad as much as I do."
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
12
ingredients
- 12 ounces rotini pasta, tri-color, dry
- 2 tablespoons pimientos, diced, canned
- 14 ounces artichoke hearts, chopped, canned, drained but not rinsed
- 1 tablespoon Italian spices, see directions
- 1 tablespoon Italian salad dressing mix, dry, e.g, Good Seasons brand
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1⁄2 cup black olives, sliced
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
directions
- Cook the pasta al dente, drain and place into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the pimientos, artichoke hearts, and black olives.
- In a small mixing bowl, blend the Italian spices, Italian dressing mix, olive oil, vinegar, water and sugar. Then, add the mayonnaise last, especially if using a blender (do not blend mayonnaise for more than 30 seconds). Pour this dressing over the pasta mix.
- Top with the grated parmesan, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to serving.
- NOTE: A batch of "Italian Spices" can be made by blending the following (Dee514's recipe): 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 tablespoons dried marjoram, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes.
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Reviews
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I tasted this directly after making it, less the parmesan, and it is spectacular. Both my DH and DD said it tasted like something you would get in a nice restaurant. The dressing is a perfect blend, the mayo gave it a creamy texture and mellowed out the vinegar. I am going to add a bit more olives (calamata olives are my fave) and more pimento. EXCELLENT!!!!! This will be such a hit for our 4th celebration. Thank You Bone Man. -
Bone Man, you've got a hit on your hands! I actually didn't think this was going to be popular (because of the artichokes, not the recipe!). To my surprise, 3 of the 4 kids at our Father's Day cook-out ate more than one serving, all the dads loved it, as did the moms! Great addition to the meal (we had grilled brats w/onion) and to my recipe collection. Thank you for sharing your creation here. -
This is a wonderful, refreshing pasta salad! As others have said, it wasn't too saucy, but had just the right amount of liquid. The spices were great (especially loved the rosemary in the Italian Spice Blend) and gave it a unique taste. My only departures from the recipes as written were to use whole wheat rotini, Stevia in place of the sugar, and light mayo instead of regular. Next time I plan to throw in some diced tomatoes and bell pepper. -
Looking for tangy, somethin sparky this did it! All the blends were right on! I did add and change some...... Used shells, its what I had, added grape tomatoes, lettuce, and onion. This will be back on the table again soon. As always thanks Bone Man! -
This is one of THE best pasta salads I have EVER had!! I did only two things differently...I immediately doubled the dressing as I was making this in the morning for a dinner get together and I didn't want to have the salad dry. I am VERY pleased I did this as it was the perfect consistancy at dinner...not any dressing to spare actually, it all soaked up! I also added some minced red onion just because I love it! I have VERY little leftover and cannot wait to try to added some leftover cooked chicken to it for a heartier lunch salad. I have had three requests for this recipe already! We most definitely have a keeper here. I recommend everyone to try this. It is wonderful...nothing overpowers anything else...all the flavors come through fresh and clear.
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Tweaks
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This is a wonderful, refreshing pasta salad! As others have said, it wasn't too saucy, but had just the right amount of liquid. The spices were great (especially loved the rosemary in the Italian Spice Blend) and gave it a unique taste. My only departures from the recipes as written were to use whole wheat rotini, Stevia in place of the sugar, and light mayo instead of regular. Next time I plan to throw in some diced tomatoes and bell pepper.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>I am a retired State Park Resort Manager/Ranger. <br /><br />Anyway, as to my years in the State Park System (retired now), I was responsible for 4 restaurants/dining rooms on my park and my boss at Central Headquarters said I should spend less time in my kitchens and more time tending to my park budget. I spent 25 years in those kitchens and worked with some really great chefs over those years, (and some really awful ones too!) <br /><br />I spent THOUSANDS of hours on every inch of that park and adjacent state forest (60,000 acres) and sometimes I miss it. But mostly I miss being in that big beautiful resort lodge kitchen. I miss my little marina restaurant down on the Ohio River too. I served the best Reuben Sandwich (my own recipe -- posted on 'Zaar as The Shawnee Marina Reuben Sandwich) in both the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky down there and sold it for $2.95. Best deal on the river! <br /><br />They (friends and neighbors) call my kitchen The Ospidillo Cafe. Don't ask me why because it takes about a case of beer, time-wise, to explain the name. Anyway, it's a small galley kitchen with a Mexican motif (until my wife catches me gone for a week or so), and it's a very BUSY kitchen as well. We cook at all hours of the day and night. You are as likely to see one of my neighbors munching down over here as you are my wife or daughter. I do a lot of recipe experimentation and development. It has become a really fun post-retirement hobby -- and, yes, I wash my own dishes. <br /><br />Also, I'm the Cincinnati Chili Emperor around here, or so they say. (Check out my Ospidillo Cafe Cincinnati Chili recipe). SKYLINE CHILI is one of my four favorite chilis, and the others include: Gold Star Chili, Empress Chili and, my VERY favorite, Dixie. All in and around Cincinnati. Great stuff for cheap and I make it at home too. <br /><br />I also collect menus and keep them in my kitchen -- I have about a hundred or so. People go through them and when they see something that they want, I make it the next day. That presents some real challenges! <br /><br />http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/shawnee.htm</p>
