Spice up a boring side dish with this Cajun pasta salad!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Total Time20 minutesmins
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Salad
1poundpastaelbows, shells or rotini or other small pasta
1Tablespoonolive oil
2scallions
1red pepper
4ribs celery
Dressing
1cupmayonnaise
2TablespoonmustardCreole, Dijon or spicy brown
2clovesgarlicgrated
2teaspoonsCajun or Creole seasoning *see note
1Tablespoonlemon juice
2teaspoonprepared horseradish
1teaspoonhot sauce
1teaspoondill pickle juice
1teaspoonpaprika
1teaspoonpepper
up to 2 teaspoon saltoptional *see note
Instructions
Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Cook the pasta as directed by the package instructions.
1 pound pasta
While the pasta cooks clean and dice the celery and red pepper. Separate the scallion whites from the greens and dice both. Set the green parts aside to garnish the salad.
1 red pepper, 4 ribs celery, 2 scallions
After the pasta is done drain it in a colander. Run cold water through it to cool it off quickly. Put the drained and cooled pasta in a large salad bowl. Toss it with the olive oil.
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Add the diced celery, red pepper and white part of the scallions to the salad bowl. Stir to mix.
In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, mustard, grated garlic, Cajun seasoning, lemon juice, horseradish, hot sauce, dill pickle juice, paprika and pepper. Stir to whisk it all together.
Taste a small amount of the dressing and determine if it needs salt or not. This will depend on how much salt your Cajun seasoning includes, if any. Add salt if necessary and stir the dressing again.
up to 2 teaspoon salt
Pour the dressing over the pasta and stir to coat all the pasta. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve garnished with a sprinkle of paprika and the reserved green scallion tops.
This salad keeps well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It will thicken a bit over time. If desired you can stir in a few tablespoons of water before serving.
Notes
Cajun seasoning/salt
Brands of Cajun seasoning differ in how much salt they have. If your Cajun seasoning includes salt you might not need to add any extra to this recipe. If it has no salt you probably will want to add 1-2 teaspoons of salt. So for best results check the ingredients on your Cajun seasoning and taste test the dressing after mixing it and then decide how much salt to add.
Variations
Add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to make this recipe spicier.
If you don't have dill pickle juice substitute vinegar.
Cherry tomatoes, dill pickles or hard boiled eggs make delicious additions to the salad.