Creamy Latin Pasta Salad
Submitted by happyzhangbo
Latin-inspired pasta salad with a blended feta-cilantro-lime dressing, diced ham, colorful bell peppers, jicama, and olives. Bright, crunchy, and totally make-ahead friendly.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
10 minREADY
58 minThis isn’t your typical mayo-heavy pasta salad.
The dressing is a purée of feta cheese, cilantro, lime juice, and evaporated milk that coats every rotini curl with tangy, herbaceous creaminess.
Toss in diced ham, crunchy jicama, sweet bell peppers, peas, and pimento-stuffed olives for a rainbow of textures and flavors that scream fiesta.
Chill it for at least 30 minutes and let all those Latin-inspired flavors come together.
Chef Tips
- Jicama adds a refreshing crunch you won’t want to skip. Peel it and chop it into small cubes so it blends right in.
- Use a high-speed blender for the dressing to get it silky smooth.
- Frozen peas go in straight from the bag. They’ll thaw as the salad chills.
- This holds up well overnight, making it ideal for picnics and cookouts.
Ingredients
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the pasta, stir with a wooden spoon, and cook until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes.
Drain, place in a large bowl and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, combine the evaporated milk, oil, feta, cilantro, lime juice and some salt and pepper in a blender.
Purée until the dressing is smooth and creamy.
Place the drained pasta in a large bowl.
Add the ham, bell peppers, peas, onions, jicama and olives.
Pour the dressing over the pasta and gently mix it into the salad.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours before serving.
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