Hawaiian Macaroni Salad with Carrots

Pasta and dressing

1. A very successful cold pasta appetizer is Hawaiian macaroni salad with carrot, onion and a light mayonnaise dressing. Its base is ready-made shell pasta: conchiglie, orecchiette or pipe, small, round and hollow. Other shapes will work too. Buy sweet, crunchy carrots for the salad, and mayonnaise, or make your own. If you decide to add other ingredients to your taste, adjust the amount of dressing.

   

2. Boil the pasta first, so it has time to cool to room temperature before you mix it with the dressing. Bring 2 l of water with 14 g of salt (7 g per 1 l) to a boil and cook the pasta. It should be slightly overcooked: add 2-3 mins to the time on the package. The pasta should look soft and a little swollen, so it soaks up the dressing better.

3. Mix the dressing. In a cup, mix store-bought or homemade mayonnaise with apple cider vinegar. If you like, dissolve a little plain sugar in the vinegar.

   

Assembling the salad

1. While the pasta cools, finely grate the peeled sweet carrot. Carrots are often bitter and smell of tops, so it is better not to use those.

2. Prepare the onion. Peel the white sweet onion and chop it very finely with a sharp knife. To reduce the smell and sharpness, cover the onion with very cold water for 10-20 mins, then rinse and squeeze it lightly.

4. Combine everything with the dressing. When the pasta has cooled to room temperature, stir it so the pieces come apart. However hard you try, they stick together a little as they cool. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled pasta, grated carrot and chopped onion. Season with a little salt and a pinch of ground white pepper. Black pepper works too, but it will show in the salad. Add the mixed dressing.

   

5. Mix the salad well and chill it. Stir so all the ingredients are evenly combined. The large hollows in the pasta hold the dressing well, so you can add much more. Next, and this is important, Hawaiian macaroni salad has to be chilled. It soaks up the dressing and turns tender and soft. If you have time, usually put it in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

   

Serving

1. Stir the salad once more before serving. You may want to add more dressing, since the pasta absorbed the first batch completely. How and with what to serve Hawaiian macaroni salad is up to you. It turns out to be good as a dish on its own, and also very tasty with boiled sausages and fresh bread.

   

   Celery and potatoes, coarsely chopped hard-boiled eggs and red onion are often used as extra ingredients (the onion must be soaked in cold water). I have seen several versions with milk added to the dressing. Although that makes Hawaiian salad look like olivye, some people also add green peas, pickles and ham. To my taste, all that is unnecessary. Add finely chopped canned pineapple instead.