I don’t know if you’ve ever seen an episode of How I Met Your Mother (none-the-less binged the entire show), but if you have, you’ll learn that Jason Segel’s character, Marshall Eriksen, is a midwestern boy from a stereotypical, oversized, Minnesota family. There’s an episode where Lily and Marshall return to St. Cloud and Marshall’s mother teaches Lily how to make a family favorite: a seven layer salad, which includes 16 cups of mayonnaise (yes, sixteen).
The recipe for this pasta salad isn’t quite that bad, but anytime I eat it, this is what I think of as it has a hearty serving of mayo and absolutely no exotic vegetables. It just screams “MIDWEST!” Now, I suppose you could sub low fat mayo if you’re not looking to have a heart attack, but that’s just not my style. Nor is it the way that Grandma would have intended.
My grandma Lori, wasn’t a spectacular cook, but she made some mean mashed potatoes and a couple of great midwestern pasta salads. My mom recently made a batch of this and I couldn’t wait to share it with you. You can use any kind of pasta you want, but I like something that the small pieces of veggies can wedge their way into, so I’ve made some recommendations below. You could also add more to it: green pepper, shredded carrots, or cheddar cheese crumbles would all be wonderful additions to the hearty midwestern-ness of this dish.
Enjoy!
Grandma Lori’s Midwestern Pasta Salad
1 box pasta with ridges or nooks (shells, radiatore, rotini, orecchiette)
1 T. olive oil
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 c. finely chopped celery
2 c. frozen peas
Cook the pasta, rinse, and let cool, lightly tossing with some olive oil — just enough to keep the noodles from sticking together while they cool.
Once the noodles have cooled, add the remaining ingredients. Keep the peas frozen so they don’t squish as you mix them in. Add more salt, pepper, and mayo if desired.
If you decide to add other ingredients (green pepper, carrots, cheddar cheese) you’ll likely want to reduce the portions of the other veggies to maintain a comparable ratio to the noodles.
