Sunday, July 11, 2010

Macaroni Salad


I made this macaroni salad for the Fourth of July. I wanted to make some classic picnic foods & this recipe came to mind. Like most Macaroni salad recipes, this one is super basic. Yet, a bit un-traditional, with the use of red onion & parsley.
It's a perfect make ahead side dish & can be chilled for up to two days.

Begin by prepping some of the salad ingredients.
Finely dice half of a small red onion & one rib of celery. Add them to a mixing bowl.

To them, add 1 tablespoon each of Dijon mustard & freshly squeezed lemon juice {I used a basic mild yellow mustard, because that's what I had on hand}.
Add a 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley, an 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder & a pinch of cayenne.

Stir it all up.

Next, boil 1 pound of elbow macaroni, according to the package instructions, one minute less than al dente. Drain the pasta & rinse with cold water. Add it to the mixing bowl & stir to combine.
Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, to allow the flavors to meld.

Stir in 1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise, stir well and season with salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Macaroni Salad

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated, August 2005
Serves 8-10

1 lb. elbow macaroni
1/2 small red onion, minced
1 rib celery, minced
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
freshly ground black pepper

Cook the macaroni in a large pot of salted water, until 1 minute less than al dente. Drain & rinse under cold water. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the red onion, celery, parsley, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder & cayenne. Add the macaroni & stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, for the flavors to meld. Add the mayonnaise, stir well and season with salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Click here for the printable recipe.

6 comments:

Laurie {Simply Scratch} said...

This sounds delicious!

Janice said...

I love macaroni salads, this looks delicious. Such teeny tiny chopping, very cheffy!

FroggyMama said...

Wow. This looks absolutely divine. Perfect for our hot summer!

Karen said...

I love red onion in mac salads... this one sounds good!

Xmastime said...

ive never liked macaroni salad before, and i had seconds!! was awesome :)

Anonymous said...

I made this macaroni salad last night and it was DELICOUS. Thanks for sharing!

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