Pasta Salad - Big Batch

This big-batch pasta salad has become my go-to dish for large gatherings. It's always a hit. Last weekend I had planned to make it for a memorial reception that ended up being postponed, but I went ahead and made it in honor of my friend who had been known for cooking in quantity. I remember cooking with her at one of her large parties when she made boeuf bourguignon with 15 pounds of beef. Like me, she had the big pans to get the job done. Anyway ...

I didn't know what I was going to do with all of it, but went ahead, thinking of her with lots of smiles as well as tears. So giving some to ailing friends and others *and* eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, none went to waste! I mix it up in the same pot I boil the pasta in, a fairly lightweight 7- or 8-quart stainless pot. You know I love my Le Creuset dutch ovens, but they are far too heavy to lift and drain pasta with the lid ajar. Everyone needs a (relatively) lightweight, (relatively) inexpensive 8-quart pot for pasta and stock.

Looking at my recipe, you might wonder why I don't make a separate dressing. I never do for pasta or potato salad. I subscribe to my mother's theory that, for the best flavor, you need to "layer" the ingredients as you go along. So I add the extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings at several points in the recipe. (Just thought how much my friend and my mother would have loved each other had they ever met. 🥹)

And, remember, as always with pasta salads, you'll have to add more dressing ingredients just before serving. 

Well, off I go. Making time to paint this morning. Before the day gets away from me. I hope you'll leave a comment and let me know whether you make a separate dressing or "dress" and season as you go. Oh, and you can cut this recipe (which makes two 4-quart bowls like the one in the photos) in half if you're not feeding a crowd. 

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Pasta Salad

(Serves 20)

1 1/2 1-pound packages (24 ounces/680 grams) rotini pasta
1 15-ounce (425 grams) can garbanzo beans, drained well
3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces/177 ml) extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces/118 ml) balsamic vinegar, divided
1/4 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise (1/2 cup)
2 6- to 7.5-ounce jar quartered marinated artichoke hearts, drained well
2 8-ounce packages fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salt and coarsely-ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 10-ounce (283 grams) bag shredded carrots
1 large red bell pepper, julienned
1 large yellow bell pepper, julienned
1/2 3-ounce package (1.5 ounces/43 grams) julienned sun-dried tomatoes, plumped in a little hot water
12 to 16 ounces zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 cup (4 ounces/113 grams) shaved Parmesan
18 fresh basil leaves (or 0.66-ounce package), thinly sliced

Day before:

1 In 7- to 8-quart stockpot, start boiling salted water (2 teaspoons salt and 4 quarts water) for pasta. Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and start slowly cooking sliced onion. (Another 8-quart stockpot)

2 Cook pasta according to package directions; drain in colander and return to cooking pot. Add 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained. Stir into pasta 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add onions to pasta, along with artichoke hearts.

3 Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet and cook mushrooms, seasoning with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Add cooked mushrooms to pasta, along with sun-dried tomatoes, shredded carrots, julienned bell peppers, 1/4 cup balsamic, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

4 Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet and cook zucchini, seasoning with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, 1/2 teaspoon marjoram, and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

Before serving:

5 Add Parmesan and fresh basil to pasta. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add 3 tablespoons more olive oil and balsamic vinegar if pasta has absorbed all the dressing. And more, if needed.

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Jean

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