Fried Pasta Salad

[kirra]

Fried Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

8 ounce Farfalle (sometimes known as bow tie) or Gnocchi shaped pasta
Oil for deep frying
5-6 spring onions, chopped into ½-inch pieces
8 ounce baby tomatoes
Chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley for decoration

Dressing:

3 tablespoons pesto sauce
1/3 cup Italia salad dressing
1/3 cup pasta sauce
1/3 cup mayonnaise

Preparation:

Cook pasta as per packet instructions.

Once pasta has been cooked, wash it in cold water and drain well.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the pasta in small batches until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towel or brown paper.

The fried pasta can be made up to three days in advance and stored at room temperature in an airtight container. It shouldn’t got soft, but if it does, put into a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 10 – 12 minutes to crisp up. Then you can make an even louder crunch!

When ready to assemble, place the pasta into a serving bowl, sprinkle with the spring onions and add the tomatoes.

To make the dressing, combine the ingredients. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss and serve immediately, decorated with the chopped basil or flat-leaf parsley.

Note: This salad should be delicately glazed with salad dressing but you can up the salad dressing to 1/2 cup per ingredient and 4 tablespoons of pesto if you’d prefer more dressing.