Black-Eyed Pea Pasta Salad

[fuzzyred]

This week's meal is Black-Eyed Pea Pasta Salad from the tasteofhome Annual Recipes 2012 cookbook.


Ingredients
1 jar (7.5 ounces) marinated quatered artichoke hearts
1 cup uncooked tricolor spiral pasta
1 can (15.5 ounces) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
4 slices provolone cheese, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup sliced pepperoni, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing

Directions
Darin artichoke hearts, reserving 1/4 cup liquid; chop and set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the artichokes, peas, cheese, peppers, onion, and pepperoni. Drain pasta; add to artichoke mixture.
In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, salad dressing, and reserved artichoke liquid. Pour over pasta mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Yield: 8 servings


Thoughts and Variations
My jar of artichoke hearts was only 6 ounces, and my can of black-eyed peas was 19 ounces. I used Piller's Toppings Semi-dry cured Original Pepperoni slices, and zesty italian dressing (cause it was in my fridge). It came together easily, though the mayo did clumo a bit when mixed with the other liquids. It smoothed out some as I kept stirring but was still a lit bit lumpy when I poured the dressing over the salad.

I'm not sure I like this one. I'm not sold on some of the individual flavours, and I'm not sure it all works together. If you like the ingredients, you might like it more than me, but if you are unsure about anything, I would give this recipe a pass.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

If you decide you want to make this again, here's a tip for assembling the dressing:

instead of using a small bowl, use the big bowl you're going to mix the whole salad in. Put in the mayo and the Italian dressing and whisk, and then add the artichoke liquid while whisking. Adding the water-based ingredients gradually rather than all at once will help the dressing meld smoothly.

Also, IMO, based on the flavors I've liked with black eyed peas, I might leave out the sweet red pepper and substitute prosciutto for the pepperoni, and add some ground black pepper.

[fuzzyred]

Thanks, that does sound like a better idea than what I did. Not only did I mix it in a small bowl, I mixed it with a regular spoon, which I'm sure helped exactly nothing.

The black pepper and proscuitto do sound like good substitutions :) I'm still not sold on the artichoke hearts, or this mix in general, so I'll probably stick with the more familiar feta cheese/olives/peppers pasta salad that I usually make and know I like.

[minoanmiss]

A fork will also work -- I think this kind of mix needs several thin prongs rather than one wide one to emulsify properly. Also, I think feta/olives/peppers would taste brilliant with black eyed peas, actually. You can give me the artichokes and add a dash of mild vinegar to the salad dressing. :D

[fuzzyred]

I considered switching to a fork but the spoon was already dirty, so I just stuck with it 😆 Huh, well perhaps I'll try that next time, though I'll be sure to send all the artichokes your way ;p Vinegar in the dressing sounds like a good call. Not much I don't think, but a couple splashes might help.