Southwestern Pasta Salad
I created this southwestern pasta salad for a friend of mine who owns a catering business. I was told it was a hit at her events and it's now among the most-requested dishes. —Valonda Seward, Coarsegold, California
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon salsa
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 package (16 ounces) uncooked spiral or cavatappi pasta
- 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained
- 1 small green pepper, finely chopped
- 1 small sweet red pepper, finely chopped
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, divided
- 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
Reviews
We love all the ingredients in this recipe so I just made it for lunch. Unfortunately we were disappointed there wasn't more taste. I've read the reviews below so may try it again using some of the tips and bump up the cumin, salsa, cayenne and salt.
Wasn't sure that the lime juice was to be more than the olive oil so I switched the measurements. The salad turned out wonderful. Next time I will only make half batch, as it was double or even triple the amount I needed for 4 people!
Sounds delicious. Is there a good substitute for white wine vinegar--regular vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine????
Good combination but as always for me, raw garlic ruins and overpowers most dishes. I would also blanch the diced red onion as well. I'd use fresh olives rather than canned which tend to be tasteless. I'd add some fresh mild green chilli as well and another avocado.....plus I'd use a yellow or orange pepper, not a green one.