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Pasta and Pickles Salad
Published July 25, 2024
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- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1shallot, thinly sliced
- 1tablespoon vinegar, such as white or red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or other favorite
- Salt and pepper
- 1pound short pasta, such as fusilli or cavatelli
- 1cup crème fraîche or sour cream
- 1garlic clove, finely grated
- 5tablespoons pickle brine plus 2 cups sliced dill pickles
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2tablespoons finely grated Parmesan, plus extra for topping
- Big handful chopped dill
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the shallot and vinegar in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside to pickle while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Step 2
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Drain pasta and run under cold water until cool. Drain again.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, place the crème fraîche or sour cream and garlic into a large bowl. Add the pickle brine and sir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Drain the shallots and discard the pickling liquid.
- Step 5
To the crème fraîche mixture, add the cooled pasta, pickles, olive oil, grated Parmesan and dill; toss to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. To serve, top with quick pickled shallots and more grated Parmesan.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I love, really, really love, pickles but 2 cups plus the brine is way over the top even for me. And pickled shallots for more acidity plus parm for more salt? Yikes. Half the readers of the NYTimes will need to adjust their BP meds.
Wild recipe
I adjusted all ingredients to taste using less pickle brine using Orzo pasta and sour cream. Added: chopped flat leaf parsley and dill (dried or fresh). I skipped the cheese. I like the chopped pickles, but next time I will do half mayo, half sour cream.
Made this with sour cream and a little Greek yogurt as i had them on hand. Used dill pickles and pickled artichoke hearts and a little dried dill and fresh parsley. The pickled shallots are a perfect topping for each serving and frankly, it was a little hard to stop eating. The combination of sour cream and pickle brine is a winner! Reminiscent of cole slaw but with the creamy pasta, it checked all of the boxes. Oops. Forgot the Parmesan but it didn’t need it.
I made this today for lunch. I halved the recipe for just two of us and there was plenty leftover. I actually had crème fraiche in the refrigerator so I was able to follow the recipe closely. I added a chopped tomato because it is summer and we have them in the garden. This was surprisingly good—my husband and I both had seconds.
This is an odd recipe but it is absolutely delicious. Super easy, flavorful, will make again. I did a pretty light amount of cheese and no added salt bc of the brine and it turned out great. Will make again!
I made this with vegan sour cream and it was delicious. I wasn't a fan of the pickled shallots but that might just be me. Otherwise, delicious!
True to the NYT reader norm, I'll talk about a major change to the recipe: I subbed 4 oz feta for half the sour cream (pureeing the dressing ingredients) to make it a bit more substantial (and skipped the parm)—feta and dill are a classic combo. I'd say pretty successful—I'll make it again, salting the pasta water a bit less. Not convinced the pickled shallots are necessary since it's already so pickle-y. It wants plenty of pepper.
I was a little worried about all the pickles. However, this is a wonderful recipe and fun to eat. I added some chicken on day two and it great
Just need to add some sliced pickled bologna. Baden Baden calls...
Loved it!! I used Grillo (might be a Midwest thing) Hot pickles! Also didn’t have a full cup of sour cream so I subbed mayo. Delish!
This is a great recipe, easy and has a different taste profile than most pasta or macaroni salads. Don’t worry about it being too salty. You know how you like to season things and just be on top of that while you put this recipe together. I used sour cream and I did not add the cheese. Without adding Parmesan, I may have been better balanced in the salt and flavors. It doesn’t cost a lot in time or in ingredients. so just go ahead and make this one and you’ll be glad you did.
This is an odd recipe but it is absolutely delicious. Super easy, flavorful, will make again. I did a pretty light amount of cheese and no added salt bc of the brine and it turned out great. Will make again!
I made this today for lunch. I halved the recipe for just two of us and there was plenty leftover. I actually had crème fraiche in the refrigerator so I was able to follow the recipe closely. I added a chopped tomato because it is summer and we have them in the garden. This was surprisingly good—my husband and I both had seconds.
Made this with sour cream and a little Greek yogurt as i had them on hand. Used dill pickles and pickled artichoke hearts and a little dried dill and fresh parsley. The pickled shallots are a perfect topping for each serving and frankly, it was a little hard to stop eating. The combination of sour cream and pickle brine is a winner! Reminiscent of cole slaw but with the creamy pasta, it checked all of the boxes. Oops. Forgot the Parmesan but it didn’t need it.
I adjusted all ingredients to taste using less pickle brine using Orzo pasta and sour cream. Added: chopped flat leaf parsley and dill (dried or fresh). I skipped the cheese. I like the chopped pickles, but next time I will do half mayo, half sour cream.
I love, really, really love, pickles but 2 cups plus the brine is way over the top even for me. And pickled shallots for more acidity plus parm for more salt? Yikes. Half the readers of the NYTimes will need to adjust their BP meds.
A pound of pasta and 2 cups of dill pickles serves 4?
Maybe she's feeding marathon runners.
Wild recipe
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