You want to know my super power?
Superior potluck skills.
Come now, don’t be jealy.
It’s because of all the dang practice I get. I work in a hospital setting on two separate hospital units, with two different teams. Once a week, each team organizes snacks for team rounds where team members rotate bringing the snack, and once or twice a month we also have a potluck over lunch for a special occasion or celebration. Add to that, are the potlucks we occasionally have in the office I share with my dietitian buddies. So if my math is correct, that’s about 745 potlucks a year. Give or take.
Not only do my contributions have to be crowd pleasers, I have to be crafty about the dishes I bring. I cycle or take public transit to work, so they’ve gotta be compact. And jiggle proof.
This one is my no-brainer choice when I haven’t the time to be creative. 30 minutes and it’s done. Delicious.
The key to making any pasta salad a hit at a potluck is reserving some of the dressing to toss just before serving. No one likes dry pasta. If you make your salad the night before and use all of the dressing, by the time you get to lunch the next day, all that precious moisture will be sucked up by the pasta.
I also love using a tiny pasta, like orzo, because it’s easy to serve onto a plate one-handed and a just a small spoonful will contain all the goodies.
Adding a head of chopped romaine (or iceberg – something hearty) will make it go a little farther and will lighten it up, too. Keep the lettuce aside until just before serving, otherwise you’ll have soggy lettuce. And everyone will hate you. Jokes….sorta.
What do you all make for potlucks?! I’m looking for new inspiration. I still have 307 potlucks left this year.
Erin
Perfect Potluck Pasta Salad
Serves | Makes aout 10 culls of salad |
Prep time | 30 minutes |
Ingredients
- 2 cups orzo pasta
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (halved or quartered)
- 1 english cucumber (seeded and chopped)
- 1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
- ⅓ cup very thinly sliced red onions
- 200g feta cheese (crumbled)
- 10 kalamata olives (sliced)
- 1 head romaine lettuce (washed and chopped)
Dressing
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- ⅔ cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon whole grain dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon liquid honey
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Directions
1. | Prepare orzo pasta in salted water per package directions or until al dente (approximate 7 minutes). Drain and rinse orzo with cold water to stop the cooking process. |
2. | Meanwhile, add all the ingredients for dressing to a small bowl and whisk until well combined. |
3. | Toss orzo, chopped vegetables, feta cheese and ¾ of the dressing in a large bowl (once combined this can stay in your refrigerator overnight). |
4. | Reserve ¼ of the dressing and chopped romaine to toss with prepared orzo just before serving. |
ellen says
wow, it was fantastic, as always, from a D5 superfan!
howt1653 says
you’re the best!!