Recipe Background
It's beautiful outside! And your patio would be a waste of real estate if you didn't spend time on it! Find a chair and sit down. And while you're at it, this is a great time for Patio-Time Salad! It's a delicious pasta salad that goes all in on the sweet-and-sour merriment of pickles. Pickles flavor the creamy and tangy dressing and nestle in amongst the tender noodles. Patio-Time Salad is the kind of dish that goes well with a day that's just the right amount of warmth, and for when you're craving something comforting.
It's beautiful outside! And your patio would be a waste of real estate if you didn't spend time on it! Find a chair and sit down. And while you're at it, this is a great time for Patio-Time Salad! It's a delicious pasta salad that goes all in on the sweet-and-sour merriment of pickles. Pickles flavor the creamy and tangy dressing and nestle in amongst the tender noodles. Patio-Time Salad is the kind of dish that goes well with a day that's just the right amount of warmth, and for when you're craving something comforting.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more, to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup milk plus more, to taste
- pickle juice optional, to taste
- 4 cups elbow macaroni cooked and cooled
- 3 whole red peppers roasted and diced
- 1/2 cup black olives finely chopped
- 1/2 cup sweet and spicy pickle slices diced
- 3 green onions white and dark green parts, sliced, divided
Directions
- In a bowl, add the mayonnaise, the vinegar, the sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper, and mix to combine.
- Add 1/4 cup of the milk and stir to combine. The mixture should be pourable. If it is too thick, add the extra milk, a little at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Add the pickle juice to the dressing mixture in small increments, stirring and tasting after each addition until it achieves the flavor you prefer.
- In a large bowl, add the macaroni and 3/4 of the dressing and toss to combine until well-coated.
- Add more of the dressing, as needed, and toss to combine. Note: The dressing will thicken as it chills.
- Add the roasted red peppers, the olives, the diced pickles, and the 3/4 of the green onions to the macaroni mixture and stir to combine.
- Taste the salad for seasoning and add the extra salt and more of the pepper, as needed.
- Refrigerate the salad until it is chilled and the dressing has thickened, about 2 hours.
- Serve sprinkled with the remaining green onions.
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