Creamy pasta salad with crunchy vegetables, fried chorizo and chilli dressing.
Creamy pasta salad with chorizo and chilli dressing is the perfect combination of easy weeknight food and a delicious side for the barbecue.
This is a generous, flavourful pasta salad where crisp-fried chorizo brings both bite and plenty of flavour. It is tossed with pasta, fresh vegetables and a creamy chilli dressing made with crème fraîche and mayonnaise, which brings everything together beautifully.
It is a really easy dish to make, and you can adapt the vegetables to whatever you have in the fridge. It can happily be made a couple of hours ahead and kept in the fridge, so it is ready to serve.
The pasta salad works both as a filling main-course salad and as a side for the barbecue – especially alongside grilled chicken or other meats. And should there be any leftovers, they are perfect in a packed lunch the next day.
If you want to make it a little lighter, you can easily use a lower-fat crème fraîche and a light mayonnaise – it works really well without compromising on flavour.
Creamy pasta salad with chorizo and chilli dressing
Ingredients
- 250 g chorizo, diced
- 300 g pasta
- 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 pepper, diced
- 1/2 cucumber, diced
- 170 g frozen peas, thawed
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 50 g black olives, halved
- 100 g feta, diced
Dressing
- 300 ml crème fraîche
- 100 ml mayonnaise
- 2 1/2 tbsp ketchup
- 1/2-1 tsp chilli sauce
- 1 tsp mild chilli powder or paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
- Fry the chorizo in a frying pan over a medium heat until crisp and golden. Set aside and leave to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, then rinse in plenty of cold water and leave to drain in a sieve.
- Mix the ingredients for the dressing and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Put the pasta, fried chorizo and vegetables (along with the olives and feta) in a bowl and toss well with the dressing. Keep the salad in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Premium
