How to Make Antipasto Salad

Antipasto salad is a beautiful and tasty combination of pasta and fresh vegetables. The salad is a huge crowd pleaser with its delectable taste and natural ingredients. The vinaigrette adds just the twist it needs to become an instant hit with the guests. Bursting with energy and vibrant colors, the salad is the perfect dish to serve at a table where the people you love are seated. Using an original homemade vinaigrette, instead of the commercial ones, brings out the true taste of the ingredients. The salad is extremely easy to prepare and there is no way it could go wrong.

Prep time: 1 hr
Total time: 1 hr + chilling
Yield: 25 servings
Utensils: mixing bowl, processor, spoons, covering film, cooking pan

Ingredients:
Salad:
Spiral pasta: 2 packages (1 pound each)
Green peppers: 4 cups chopped
Seeded tomatoes: 4 cups chopped
Onions: 3 cups chopped
Garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained: 2 cans (15 ounces each)
Genoa salami, julienned: 1 pound thinly sliced
Pepperoni, julienned: 1 pound sliced
Provolone cheese: 1/2 pound cubed
Ripe olives: 1 cup pitted, halved

Dressing:
Red wine vinegar: 1 cup
Sugar: ½ cup
Dried oregano: 2 tablespoons
Salt: 2 teaspoons
Pepper: 1 teaspoon
Olive oil: 1 ½ cups

Instructions

  • 1

    Take a large cooking pan. Pour in enough water to cover the pasta. Bring the water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook according to the instructions on the package of the pasta. Drain the pasta. Now rinse it under cold water for long to make sure that it cools down and the individual pieces do not stick to each other.

  • 2

    Take a large mixing bowl and add to it the pasta, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, beans, salami, pepperoni, cheese and olives. Mix these ingredients together well with a large spoon, preferably wooden.

  • 3

    Then, proceed to make the vinaigrette. Pour the vinegar, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper into the blender. While you process the ingredients, add the oil in a slow but steady stream. When the vinaigrette is ready, pour it over the pasta in the large mixing bowl and toss it in to mix it. The vinaigrette can also be bought commercially in packaged bottles.

  • 4

    Cover the bowl of pasta with cling film and place it in the refrigerator. The colder it becomes, the better it will be. Refrigerate for at least four hours before consumption. Chilling it overnight is the best option.

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