FOOD NEWS
Substitute Vinegar With Pickled Veggies For A Perfectly Balanced Pasta Salad
BY JULIA HOLLAND
Refreshing, colorful, and full of flavor, pasta salad blends fresh veggies with cold pasta for a light, balanced meal. If you want to add more flavor, try adding pickled veggies.
Pasta salad dressing with vinegar can develop a metallic taste if left too long in the serving bowl. You can avoid this pitfall by using pickled vegetables in vinegar's place.
With pickled vegetables, you get the flavor of the veggies in addition to the pickling juice, which usually blends vinegar, water, sugar, and salt for a tangy, salty, sweet flair.
The pickled veggies have a soft yet crisp texture that pairs perfectly with the pasta, and you can add extra seasonings to the pickles to complement the salad.
You can add mustard seeds, garlic, dill, bay leaves, coriander, allspice, and red pepper flakes to your pickled veggies to add depth of flavor to your ingredients.
Since you’re nixing the vinegar-based dressing, you can use an oil-based pasta sauce to finish off the salad, whether you use aglio e olio (garlic and olive oil) or classic pesto.