Perfect Pasta Salad's - Hold the gluten / Hold the dairy!

One of summer’s most popular sides for any outdoor or even indoor meal is a pasta salad.  For those who are avoiding dairy in your diets as well as gluten, this is good news!  There have been so many great new gluten-free products introduced over the last few years, I’m happy to say that pasta has been a category that has been at the top of the list for new product offerings.

Pasta Salad w/Shrimp

Gluten-free /casein-free (casein is the protein found in dairy) pasta is usually made from rice (white or brown), corn or quinoa.  There are several gf/cf pasta’s currently available on the market but our favorite is Le Veneziane.  Le Veneziane is an Italian made pasta that is available on line but sadly unavailable in grocery stores.  Ordinarily, this fact alone would encourage me to seek another product, but frankly, this brand (in my humble opinion) is worth purchasing on line, it’s that good.  The ingredients in this pasta are cornmeal and water.  So, in discussing pasta salads, we first start with a wonderful pasta that is gluten and dairy free.  Not all gluten-free pastas will hold up to serving cold, as the texture tends to suffer.  We’ve found that Le Veneziane performs wonderfully served hot or cold and closely resembles wheat based pasta in taste and texture.

Pasta salads, whether hot or cold are usually made with an oil to moisten the cooked pasta and to blend the other ingredients and flavorings together.  Unlike pasta side dishes they generally do not include cream or even cheeses as ingredients.  For that reason alone, pasta salads are a fabulous addition to any summer time meal for anyone with diet restrictions.

Chicken Pasta Salad w/Tomatoes & Kalamata Olives

We’d like to feature four pasta salads from our archives ranging from salads with Italian to Latin undertones.  Any of these pasta salads would be perfect for a family summer meal or as part of summer menu for guests.

Pasta Salad with Corn Chipotle Dressing

Chicken Pasta Salad w/Tomatoes & Kalamata Olives (Our original recipe includes 1/2 cup feta, omit the feta and the dish is just as great without it)

Pasta Salad w/Shrimp

Pasta Salad w/Corn & Black Beans

- Chef Yvonne