Newton Citizen

Pasta salad is a perfect summer dish.

Rita Wasson, a dear friend of my family, sent me several recipes a few weeks back. I had been searching for a good pasta salad recipe and lo and behold she just happened to send one in her email.

She had a note at the bottom of the recipe explaining that she originally got this recipe from Rebecca Hensley, another friend of our families.’ Rebecca gave Rita the recipe in the late 1980s and at the time it was called spaghetti salad.

That definitely piqued my interest. So we emailed back and forth and she explained things to me a bit further.

She and Rebecca worked for BellSouth in the late 1980s to early 1990s. The ladies’ desks were next to one another and they were always sharing recipes. Sometimes all of the secretaries would have covered dish luncheons and sometimes those luncheons would be a salad luncheon.

Rita went onto to explain that they used to use angel hair pasta for the noodles. But she said back then they didn’t even know what pasta salad was, so they just used their leftover spaghetti noodles. She also said this pasta salad recipe became a favorite.

As with a lot of recipes, feel free to alter any ingredients your family may not like. I know in our household we left out the bell peppers and added the carrots in its place.

There is nothing like a good pasta salad during the summertime, especially when the vegetables come straight from the garden to your plate.

Pasta salad

Start to finish: approximately 25 minutes

16 ounces of cooked pasta

One 16-ounce bottle Italian salad dressing

One to two bunches of scallions, chopped

1 to 2 pints of cherry tomatoes, halved

One to two cucumbers, chopped

One to two green bell peppers, chopped

One bottle of McCormicks Salad Supreme Seasoning

Black olives

Chopped carrots (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Toss before serving.

Tip: Try whole wheat pasta for this dish.