Recipes / Sides
Braai pasta salad
The classic braai-table pasta salad: shells or spirals with crunchy vegetables in a creamy mayonnaise and mustard dressing, made ahead and served cold.
- CoalsGas
- No fire needed
- Prep
- 20 min
- On the fire
- 12 min
- Plan ahead
- at least 1 hour in the fridge
- Serves
- 6 to 8
Ingredients
Salad
Dressing
Method
- Cook the pasta in well-salted boiling water until just tender. Drain and rinse it under cold water until cool, then drain well.
- Whisk the mayonnaise, cottage cheese, mustard, chutney, lemon juice, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
- Add the pasta and stir until every piece is coated.
- Fold in the cucumber, pepper, carrots, tomatoes and onion.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Stir in the herbs and check the seasoning just before serving.
Done when: the pasta is cold, coated evenly, and the vegetables are still crisp.
Tips
- Pasta soaks up dressing as it stands. Keep a few spoonfuls of dressing back and stir them in before serving.
- For the tangy older style, swap the creamy dressing for 250 ml (1 cup) tomato sauce, 125 ml (1/2 cup) vinegar, 125 ml (1/2 cup) oil, 200 ml (3/4 cup) sugar and 2 tablespoons mild curry powder.
- Keep it in the fridge or a cooler box until serving and put it back within 2 hours. It keeps for 3 days.
Almost every South African braai has a bowl of cold pasta salad next to the potato salad. It is cheap, it feeds a crowd and it is better made the day before. The curried, sweet version is the old-school one; the creamy version here is milder. For another make-ahead side, try the curried noodle salad.
Source
Adapted from Creamy Pasta Salad at Checkers and The Braai Side: South African Curried Pasta Salad at FinGlobal.