Saturday, April 25, 2026

Fusilli Pasta Salad

This is a recipe I've been making for about 40 or more years. It is from one of my favorite 1970s cookbooks, San Francisco Ala Carte by the Junior Women's League of SF.

Somehow, I've forgotten about it for the past decade. I had to go hunting for the recipe after I found out it wasn't on this blog! It's delicious and I used to make it meatless, then with shrimp and this time with cooked sausage slices.

Cook 1 pound of curly fusilli (I use the long curly pasta that is about double the length of spaghetti because it is doubled over.) Rinse and drain.

Make a sauce of the rest of these ingredients and pour over the pasta. 

  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup white vinegar (I used white balsamic today)
  • 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 T. fresh basil, chopped
  • 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste

Mix in 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper cut into thin strips (I use tri-colored and often leave out the green)

1/4 head of broccoli cut into florets

Mix in 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan (I used a Asiago/Parmesan/Percorino grated cheese blend)

Add sliced black olives or any other sliced olives if preferred. Add protein if desired. Serve warm OR refrigerate for later.