Often in the summer, I find myself making huge quantities of cold pasta salads to serve friends and family. You only heat up your kitchen for the 20 minutes or so it takes to heat water on the stove to boil the pasta, and your salad can be served refreshingly cold on a hot summer day. Cold pasta salads are easy to transport to someone else’s house for a barbecue or backyard gathering, too – just Saran wrap them carefully!
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Recently I paired one of Martedi Winery’s fabulous Italian wines with a cold pasta salad I set out for guests: the amazing Sangiovese I picked up at a recent wine tasting room visit here in Woodinville.
Because we were also barbecuing, I wanted to serve a lighter or medium bodied red wine. I peeked at Just Wines’ page on Sangiovese, read about Sangiovese on the Pairing Advisor page, and got courage to serve it due to all the fresh herbs I’d use in the pasta salad. I’ll admit I was a little nervous about the vinegary dressing I’d use to coat and flavor the pasta salad.
My pasta salads are different every time I make them, depending on my energy level, what I have around the house that day, and what’s currently harvestable in my garden. I like to use colored pastas, such as the tri-colored gigli pasta from Cost Plus World Market. I toss in colorful tomatoes whenever possible, and black olives for color. I might add fresh or frozen peas and corn, perlini mozzarella ballls, artichoke hearts or pickled beets as the mood strikes me.
You don’t really need a recipe for cold pasta salad, just be sure to slightly undercook the pasta. It’s better if it sits and marinates for a day in the fridge before being served (snip your fresh herbs or basil for the top just before serving). I am too lazy to whisk together my own vinaigrette, usually, so I just use a high quality Italian dressing from the supermarket. The rule of thumb is one container of dressing for every pound of pasta, then add some of your best extra virgin olive oil if the pasta seems to need a little more.
I suppose the pairing was a hit – the wine and pasta salad both disappeared quickly!
-Carrie
RESOURCES:
“Floreale” serving platter, serving spoon and tablerunner: Sur la Table
Orange “bubble coral” acrylic stemware: Pier 1 Imports
Orange potted flowers: Trader Joe’s
