Vinegary Macaroni Salad

Photo of my vinegary macaroni salad
Photo by PattyCooks.

Diet
[x] Flexitarian + Omnivore
[x] Vegan
[x] Vegetarian
[x] Pescatarian 
[x] Gluten free: use GF pasta
[x] Weight Maint: portion issue
[O] Keto Diet
[O] Mediterranean 
[O] Lectin Avoidance: Grains, dairy, soy (if using soy mayo)
[O] Oxalate Avoidance: Grains, soy, dairy
[x] Purine Avoidance

Macaroni Salad

A step beyond bland, mayo pasta salad to a bright, flavorful macaroni salad that also carries a little heat.
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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: macaroni salad, pasta salad
Servings: 8
Calories: 267kcal
Author: Patty

Equipment

  • Veggie workstation (cutting board, chef knife, discard bowl, wipe down towel)
  • Pot for pasta
  • Colander to drain pasta
  • Whisk for sauce and a rubber spatula to get it all out of the bowl
  • Small bowl for sauce, medium sized bowl for veggies + herbs, large bowl for mixing
  • Wooden spoon to mix

Ingredients

Pasta

  • 12 oz dry elbow macaroni
  • 4 Quarts Water Per box instructions
  • 2 T kosher salt Water should taste like the sea
  • 2 T Avocado Oil used to keep pasta from sticking

Veggies

  • 1. Yellow- orange bell pepper chopped small
  • 2 Shallot diced
  • 3 stalks Celery sliced, with leaves
  • 3 Scallions sliced diagonal
  • 1 Carrot sliced diagonal
  • 1 T kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves Chopped well
  • 2 T Seasoned rice vinegar

Sauce

  • 4 T mayonnaise
  • 4 T Sour cream
  • 4.5 T Seasoned rice vinegar Use Japanese version of this vinegar
  • 1/2 Meyer Lemon Meyer lemons will add a sweeter acid
  • 2 t Sriracha sauce Put in as much as you prefer, to taste
  • 2 T Dijon mustard Use quality Dijon
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 t Salt To taste

Instructions

Pasta

  • Cook the past in salted water, drain into a colander in the sink, and place the pasta in the large bowl to cool while other ingredients are prepped.
  • Mix in 1-2T olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking together. Mix and set aside.

Veggies

  • Chop an orange or yellow bell pepper into small cubes, no seeds and put in a veggie bowl.
  • Slice scallions and carrots on the diagonal and put into the veggie bowl.
  • Dice the shallot and finely chop the fresh parsley and add to the bowl. Set aside ~2t parsley to add to the sauce.
  • Add 2T seasoned rice vinegar into the veggies and mix. While waiting to finish the sauce let this veggie mix marinate in the vinegar. Mix a bit so everything gets marinated.

Sauce

  • Add seasoned Japanese rice wine into a sauce bowl, add salt, pepper, mayo, sour cream, lemon juice and mustard, and mix well. I also add two quick squirts of Sriracha sauce, ~1t. Add more hot sauce if you want, it is up to your preference.
  • Add a bit of the parsley to the sauce and then taste for additional seasoning.

Notes

This is a highly flavorful sauce on the acidic side. I love it, my spouse not so much.
I tested this with gluten free elbow pasta and while it felt a little “mealy” to me, the flavor of the sauce would make me eat it.
The gluten pasta texture felt better to me and had a better overall taste.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 3077mg | Potassium: 233mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1849IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg