Looking for a SPECTACULAR Greek pasta salad recipe.

house_cat · ‎03-09-2010

I had one years ago - I think it included salami - but I can't find it anywhere.

If you have a tried and true, excellent Greek pasta salad recipe to share, I'd love to have it.

Thank you.

~ house cat ~

sabatini · ‎06-29-2015

This isn't Greek, per se, but:

Do you remember a poster, @MissButtercup? She shared some mighty fine recipes, and this pasta salad recipe was one she'd posted ages ago.

Frankly, I've never made it, but it came highly recommended by her!

One of these days....

Here:

The notes are hers.

Different Macaroni Salad

by @MissButtercup

‎08-09-2011 05:31 PM

I made this many years ago and kept the recipe and it was requested for a BBQ recently and I just made it again and it was the hit of the table. I used smoked gouda cheese mixed in and halfed the amount of garlic and salt. The horseradish powder is the same as wasabi powder which you can get in the asian section from the store or you can just use fresh horseradish but use a bit more. The dicing is a lot of work but this is delicious and people always love it!

Macaroni salad

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package salad macaroni (or ditali pasta)
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup red onion, diced
1 cup yellow or white onion, diced
1 cup medium cheddar, diced
1 cup swiss cheese, diced
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1 cup dill pickles, diced
1 cup salami, diced
1 (6-ounce) can large pitted black olives, drained (or 1 cup diced or sliced)
1 to 2 tablespoons Lawry's garlic salt
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
1/4 teasspoon dried horseradish
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 (3-ounce) jar diced pimentos, rinsed and drained
1 to 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

Directions

Add 2 quarts of water to a medium stockpot and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until it is al dente, approximately 9 minutes. Do not overcook the pasta or it will fall apart when the salad is tossed together.

Rinse macaroni until cool. Drain well and let it dry out slightly.

Add pasta to a large bowl. Carefully fold in celery, onion, cheddar, Swiss cheese, Parmesan, dill pickles, salami, and black olives. Refrigerate the mixture, uncovered, overnight (or refrigerate for at least 2 hours).

Mix the Lawry's garlic salt, minced garlic, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard and celery salt together. Add to salad. Fold in the pimentos.

Fold in 1 cup of mayonnaise to start. Add up to a 1/2 cup more of mayonnaise if needed. Refrigerate again for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Muddling through...

fthunt · ‎12-24-2010

Whew - I'm tired just reading what's needed. Here's my chance to ask the million $ question I've had for years.........what's the big deal about white pepper? How different from black?

And...I've seen recipes calling for unsalted butter and then it calls for salt! What's the deal on that one? LOL

shaggygirl · ‎11-24-2011

This serves 8 - for a crowd or taking to a picnic I simply double all the ingredients.

Greek Orzo Salad Ingredients:

1 Cup orzo

6 Tablespoons olive oil

5 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 small red onion

1 & 1/2 Teaspoons salt

1/2 Teaspoon black pepper

1 Teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 Cup minced parsley

2 Large tomatoes diced

1 English cucumber peeled & diced

12 Kalamata olives halved (I cut each into 3 slices)

6 Ounces crumbled feta cheese

Method:

Cook orzo and toss with 2 teaspoons oil

Whisk together remaining oil, vinegar, onion, salt, pepper, parsley

Pour over orzo & chill 2 -24 hours.

Toss the remaining ingredients into orzo before serving

I'm not fussy on how long before serving it that I toss in those remaining ingredients, sometimes it's right before sometimes it's hours before but if a few hours have passed I do restir it all before serving.

Allegheny · ‎03-19-2010

This is a recipe posted by adoreqvc some time ago. I believe she was Greek and many times shared her recipes. She hasn't posted in quite a while.

"This is from my family's treasured authentic traditional Greek Recipes, and is quite delicious"

Traditional Greek Orzo Pasta Salad with Greek Dressing Servings (8)

For the pasta salad:
1 cup uncooked Orzo & follow package cooking directions
2/3 cup sliced red onions
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup diced cucumbers
3/4 cup sliced Greek Kalamata olives (pits removed)
3/4 cup diced green peppers
1 cup crumbled Greek feta cheese

A few anchovies to taste & crushed until made into a paste

For the Greek dressing:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano

Some minced fresh parsley

Some minced fresh dill
1/2 cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil

3 anchovies crushed into a fine paste

For Orzo pasta salad:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Orzo pasta and cook according to the package directions.

Strain the Orzo pasta and transfer it to a large bowl, and add a few teaspoons olive oil mixing well.

While the Greek Orzo pasta salad cools, make the Greek Salad dressing.

Greek Salad Dressing:

My family's recipe stated they blended this by hand, but I love kitchen conveniences, so I prefer to use my Vitamix.

In a blender add all of the salad dressing ingredients, except for the olive oil. Turn on low and then slowly stream in the olive oil and the anchovies and blend whirling well until everything is incorporated. Add more olive oil according to preference if needed, and also some salt and pepper. Blend for a few minutes.

Add the red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, green peppers and feta cheese to the bowl with the Orzo pasta.

Pour the salad dressing over the Orzo pasta, tossing to combine, then cover the salad with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

When ready to serve, toss the Orzo pasta salad again, and serve either cold, or at room temperature.

house_cat · ‎03-09-2010

Thank you, everyone!

~ house cat ~

sabatini · ‎06-29-2015

@fthunt wrote:
Whew - I'm tired just reading what's needed. Here's my chance to ask the million $ question I've had for years.........what's the big deal about white pepper? How different from black?
And...I've seen recipes calling for unsalted butter and then it calls for salt! What's the deal on that one? LOL

LOL! That's why I've never made it!

@fthunt, white pepper is used by purists who don't want flecks of black peppers in a sauce, etc.

But I ALWAYS use salted butter. What can I say? I like salt!

Muddling through...

Harpa · ‎03-10-2010

@sabatini wrote:
@fthunt wrote:
Whew - I'm tired just reading what's needed. Here's my chance to ask the million $ question I've had for years.........what's the big deal about white pepper? How different from black?
And...I've seen recipes calling for unsalted butter and then it calls for salt! What's the deal on that one? LOL
LOL! That's why I've never made it!

@fthunt, white pepper is used by purists who don't want flecks of black peppers in a sauce, etc.
But I ALWAYS use salted butter. What can I say? I like salt!

Yes, that, but also white pepper is more pungent (hot). Note in that recipe that both are used: 1/2 white to 1-2 tsp. of black.

The "flavor" of the two are distinct, if not, subtle.

p.s. TY for the recipes!

tiny 2 · ‎03-10-2010

@Harpa wrote:
@sabatini wrote:
@fthunt wrote:
Whew - I'm tired just reading what's needed. Here's my chance to ask the million $ question I've had for years.........what's the big deal about white pepper? How different from black?
And...I've seen recipes calling for unsalted butter and then it calls for salt! What's the deal on that one? LOL
LOL! That's why I've never made it!

@fthunt, white pepper is used by purists who don't want flecks of black peppers in a sauce, etc.
But I ALWAYS use salted butter. What can I say? I like salt!
Yes, that, but also white pepper is more pungent (hot). Note in that recipe that both are used: 1/2 white to 1-2 tsp. of black.

The "flavor" of the two are distinct, if not, subtle.

p.s. TY for the recipes!

Yes This!!!! It will lose the strength quickly if it has been sitting in the cabinet for awhile.

ChiliPepper · ‎01-16-2015

@fthunt wrote:
Whew - I'm tired just reading what's needed. Here's my chance to ask the million $ question I've had for years.........what's the big deal about white pepper? How different from black?
And...I've seen recipes calling for unsalted butter and then it calls for salt! What's the deal on that one? LOL

@fthunt

I'm thinking the point of saltless butter & then adding salt to the recipe is to control the amount of salt - add a little or a lot depending on your taste. The salted butter adds a set amount of salt to the recipe.

BTW, I like salt too. I do try to cut back though for health reasons.