Author Notes: Pasta salads are so easy and so relieving to make during picnics or potlucks or my best thing to do in summers “Movies under the stars” , where I can assemble a quick pasta salad with something else to eat and some drinks, OK i just meant soft drinks. Watching movie and eating outside my house on open space, is all I want summer long seriously. This pasta salad is quick and easy to prepare like all the other pasta salads and has a nice hint of saffrony or saffronised mayonnaise, (is it a real word, who cares). So enjoy this saffron flavored pasta salad.
—PistachioDoughnut
Serves: 5 to 6
Ingredients
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2
cups Pasta like bowtie or fusilli spiral ones, boiled
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1
cup Mix of all the three bell pepper Green, yellow and red chopped medium sized
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1/3
cup Artichoke hearts, drained and thawed, chopped in quarters
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1/2
cup Cherry or grape tomatoes, chopped
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1
small vidalia onion, chopped
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handfuls Black Olives
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2 to 3
tablespoons Cranberries or dried cherries
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2 to 3
tablespoons Pine nuts + few tbsp of garnish
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Salt to taste
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1
Clove of garlic
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2
tablespoons Red wine vinegar
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3
tablespoons olive oil
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1/2
cup Mayonnaise
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2
tablespoons Milk
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2
teaspoons Saffron threads
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1
teaspoon Thyme leaves, chopped
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1 to 2
tablespoons parsley
Directions
- Take saffron threads, rub them a little bit between your palm (to release flavor) and then soak it in warm milk for about 10 minutes.
- In a big bowl, take the boiled pasta, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, onions, artichoke hearts, olives, cranberries and mix it well. Leave it aside till we make the dressing.
- For the dressing – Take the mayonnaise, milk along with saffron, pine nuts, vinegar, olive oil and garlic and blend it in the food processor till everything becomes smooth. Add salt and black pepper also. Mix it well.
- At the time of serving , dress the pasta and vegetables and season it well. Garnish it with some fresh chopped thyme and parsley, pine nuts.
