Classic-style, old-fashioned macaroni salad. I like it a lot, almost as much as potato salad, and in my kitchen, just like potato salad, it's not restricted to Summertime eating. That said, when macaroni salad is made with elbow macaroni, I often lose interest in it after a few bites. Why? Texturally, in a to-the-tooth sort of way, it misses the mark, which is why I've always liked potato salad better. Then came the day I discovered that my creamy, mayonnaise-dressed macaroni salad recipe, if made with larger pasta and chunkier pieces of eggs, puts it on the same level as potato salad. It's the perfect accompaniment to a deli sandwich, a 'burger, or a steak.
It's classic-style macaroni salad made better:
4 cups al-dente cooked rotini pasta
6 hard-cooked extra-large eggs
1/2 cup medium-diced celery
1/2 cup thin-sliced onion, cut into half-moons, half-moons cut in half
3/4 cup high-quality store-bought mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2-3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish, more or less to taste
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse-grind pepper
~Step 1. In a large bowl, measure and place the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish, celery seed, salt and pepper. Using a large rubber spatula, thoroughly fold these ingredients together. Add the diced celery and sliced onion and fold them into the dressing.
~Step 2. Add the cooked rotini pasta to the dressing mixture. Using the spatula, fold it in until it is thoroughly enrobed in the dressing mixture. Cut the hard-cooked eggs into wedges, adding them to the bowl as you work. Using the spatula gently and thoroughly fold them in the salad. Cover the macaroni salad and refrigerate until well-chilled, several hours to overnight. Serve cold.
Meet the macaroni salad that's as good as potato salad:
Classic-Style Creamy & Chunky Rotini & Egg Salad: Recipe yields 6 cups macaroni salad/6 servings.
Special Equipment List: cutting board; chef's knife; large rubber spatula
Cook's Note: Wish-Bone Italian dressing. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. To name a few: drizzled on my garden salad or slathered on my turkey sandwich, as a dip for my vegetables, as a marinade for my chicken, and, as the dressing for ~ The Retro & Original Wish-Bone Italian Pasta Salad Recipe ~. It isn't gourmet, it isn't even particularly exciting to look at, but, because when prepared correctly, it is remarkably delicious -- a time-tested family favorite.
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022)
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