Curried Pasta Salad by Megan Barone

We all fell in love with Megan’s curried pasta salad. It was light and zingy and perfect for an outdoor summer meal. It’s the grand prize winner of our Picnic Recipe Contest. Megan wins a big box of Cynthia Rowley’s Whim gear from target. And, if you’re feeling bad because you didn’t win or didn’t even bother to enter, guess what? Most of the stuff is on sale now for 50% off at Target stores, so we’re all winners (sorta).

Why we love this recipe: This curry flavored pasta has a real kick to it, and is complemented by crunchy radishes, celery and onions. Golden raisins add a dose of sweetness, and make it impossible to not gobble up. If you want to make the dish a little more hearty, add some grilled chicken and you have a one dish main course. It’s also great for toting to work for lunch.

Click through to the next page for Megan’s recipe!

Curried Pasta Salad (serves 8-10)

1 lb pasta (I used orzo, but small macaroni or rotelle would work too)
1 red onion, diced (roughly 1 cup)
1/3 c finely minced cilantro
1c celery, diced (4 ribs, approx)
3/4 c golden raisins
3/4 c radishes, finely chopped
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
3/4 c non fat Greek style yogurt
3/4 c mayonnaise
1 tsp honey
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
salt/ pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, mix yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey and curry powder (and optional cayenne) together along with a touch of salt and pepper. Toss in drained pasta, prepped veggies, raisins, and cilantro. Fold to coat ingredients with dressing. Let cool and sit for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to completely meld. Serve to your loved ones al fresco!

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 5:33 am and is filed under decorating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.