Quick and Easy Pasta Salad

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad

Years ago, when I was living in a dorm, I came up with my own staples of food that I could either easily make in a shared kitchen or in my own microwave that I had in my room. Aside from the typical ramen noodles and popcorn, I tried to make things that I could put together quickly and still taste pretty good. By no means are these dishes gourmet, and to the average person, they may taste bland, but from time to time I still make them and remember that period in my life when I was a little less responsible and a lot more poor. Surprisingly, too, many of these bachelorette foods were vegan, which may have been an indication of culinary times ahead.

One such dish is this pasta salad. It’s not exactly pasta salad, but I am not sure what else to call it. It takes only minutes to prepare, and once done is completely satisfying. This basic recipe is not for those who tend towards more ingredients or eye-popping flavors, but you could also use this as a base recipe and add other ingredients if you have them. I have never added anything else other than what you see here, but you could probably add things like chopped black olives, fresh or dried dill or pepperoncinis (banana peppers, for those of you who know them by this name). I will also point out that I just throw this dish together based upon taste, so the measurements are approximations.

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad

• 1 lb. package rotini or farfalle pasta
• 1 medium or large onion, chopped according to personal preference
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 – 4 tablespoons lemon juice or the juice of one lemon
• 2 – 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Boil pasta according to package directions. I prefer using a tri-color pasta like this Hodgson Mill Veggie Rotini, but you can use whatever you prefer.

Tri-color rotini pasta

About 3 to 5 minutes before the pasta is done, stir your chopped onion into the boiling pasta.

Adding chopped onion into boiling pasta

When the pasta is done, drain and rinse the pasta and onion in a colander under cold water. Put the pasta and onion in your serving dish or back in the pan in which it was cooked, then add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Adding the lemon juice and red wine vinegar

Taste test and adjust ingredients according to your personal taste preferences. Note that the liquid ingredients will fall to the bottom of the pan, so make sure you mix the pasta well before you serve.

You may chill this pasta, but you can also eat it immediately as rinsing it under cold water will cool it down considerably.

Quick and easy pasta salad

What was – or is – your staple food(s) when you were in college or single?

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Tagged as: black pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, onion, red wine vinegar, rotini pasta, salt