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Vegetables are a must when putting together a pasta salad. While some garden goodies like cucumbers and tomatoes are best served raw, other vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and bell peppers can benefit from blanching. Blanching helps brighten the color, preserve the flavor, and clean the dirt and other organisms off the surface of the food. It also makes the vegetables easier to digest. Blanching is most often done in water, but steam and microwave blanching are other common methods.
Blanching in water is a quick and easy procedure. Bring to a boil one gallon of water for each pound of vegetables. While the water is heating, trim and cut the vegetables. Once the water is rapidly boiling, carefully submerge a small quantity of the vegetables in it, making sure they are completely covered. The vegetables should remain in the boiling water for one to five minutes depending on their size, and then be plunged directly into an ice bath for an additional one to five m inutes to stop the cooking process.
Broccoli and winter squash can be either water or steam blanched. Blanching with steam takes longer than blanching with water, but it is just as simple. Follow the same method as with water, only instead of submerging the vegetables they should be placed in a blanching basket and suspended three inches or so above an inch or two of boiling water. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on the bottom of the basket to ensure the steam reaches the vegetables evenly and keep the pot covered during cooking time.
While some people choose to blanch vegetables in the microwave, this method has not proven to be effective in producing the same results as water or steam blanching. It does not take any less time and there is a greater risk of overcooking the vegetables in the microwave. Microwave blanching can cause off-flavors and on occasion it actually causes a loss of color and texture. If there is no option of water or steam blanchin g, it might be advisable to simply add the vegetables to the pasta salad in a raw state instead of risking spoiling them in the microwave.
Pasta salads should be filled with a wide variety of vegetables to create a tasty, colorful dish. Blanching vegetables does not take much time and the results are brighter, more flavorful vegetables, which produces a more beautiful, succulent pasta salad. Vegetables are a healthy addition to pasta salad and blanching them is a great way to make the vegetables look and taste wonderful.
Pasta salad is healthy and delicious way to take advantage of seasonal vegetables. Check out our growing collection of the best pasta salad recipes, and create something new and tasty in the comfort of your own kitchen. Find a great entrée or side dish, and enhance your pasta salad making skills with our recipe cooking tips and techniques.