I know what you’re thinking: Yawn, another pasta salad. You’ve probably seen a pasta salad at nearly every cook out you’ve been to this summer. They litter every grocery store deli case with their gloppy mayonnaise dressings, too-sweet pickle relish, and bland canned black olives. But don’t turn away yet! This pasta salad is different. This one is special.
This salad was inspired by a trio of recipes from the July issue of Food and Wine. Susan Feniger’s Tunisian Chicken Kebabs, olive-spiked relish, and Morrocan Carrot Salad all sounded so appealing to me, but I only needed one dish to bring to a pool party. So I decided to combine them and create a unique version of pasta salad. And I am so glad I did.
There are so many bright, intense flavors going on here. Smokey red peppers, tangy peppadews, sweet currants, and salty, briny olives come together into a complex but balanced harmony, with just a little bit of heat sneaking up from behind. And the varied textures really differentiate this from your standard pasta salad mush.
This does take a little forethought: The chicken needs to marinate for about 4 hours. But you can assemble the pasta salad and add in the grilled chicken right before serving. Or you can make the whole thing the day before you want to serve it. It tastes even better the next day.
I think the trickiest part of this recipe might be roasting the red pepper. If you’ve never done it before, it can seem daunting. You can do this on a grill, under a broiler, or right on your stovetop. Just put the pepper directly over (or under) a flame. Let it roast until it’s well charred, turning it to get each side. This takes about three or four minutes per side, depending on how hot your flame is. Once the pepper is blackened all over, put it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. This steams the pepper a little bit and makes the skin easier to peel off. Then, just peel the skin and most of the blackened bits off, chop off the green top, and pull out the seeds. Then chop or slice the pepper however you choose. In this recipe the pepper is pureed, so you don’t need to worry so much about cutting it up nicely.
If you’ve given up on pasta salads, give this one a try. It will be a welcome addition at a potluck, or just a fun way to spice up a weekend lunch.
| Tunisian Chicken Pasta Salad |
- 1 medium bell pepper
- 1 cup currants
- 14 ounces peppadew peppers
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- salt
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3/4 pound whole wheat pasta shells
- 1/3 cup good green olives, pitted and chopped
- 2 large carrots
- a big handful parsley
- a few tablespoons of sherry vinegar
- Roast the bell pepper over a medium-high flame until it’s charred all over. Cool in a covered bowl for about 15 minutes, then peel, seed, and roughly chop.
- Soak the currants in hot water for five minutes. Drain, pressing out any excess liquid.
- Put half the currants, the chopped red pepper, half of the peppadew peppers, and 1/2 cup of olive oil in a food processor or blender. Puree until the mixture is very smooth. Season to taste with salt.
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Put the chicken into a large bowl or ziploc bag. Pour half of the pureed pepper mixture over the chicken. Cover, or close the bag, and refrigerate for about 4 hours. Set aside the rest of the pureed mixture to use as a dressing for the salad.
- While the chicken marinates, prepare the rest of the salad. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta. When it’s al dente, drain, rinse, and set aside.
- Grate the carrots, chop the remaining peppadews into small pieces, and chop the parsley. Mix together the pasta, chopped olives, carrots, parsley, and peppadews, and stir in the dressing that you set aside. Add another quarter cup of olive oil, if it seems dry, and a few tablespoons of sherry vinegar (add to taste). Add salt if needed, and refrigerate the pasta salad until you’re ready to cook the chicken.
- Once the chicken has marinated, thread the pieces onto skewers. Grill over a medium flame until cooked through, about four or five minutes on one side, and three on the other. Remove the chicken from the skewers and toss with the pasta salad. Serve cool or at room temperature.
Most of the prep time is inactive; it includes the time the chicken needs to marinate.