Recipes » Macaroni salad

The simple yet delicious macaroni salad recipe my grandmother and I enjoy. The mixing instructions might be a bit odd, but it helps distribute the seasoning evenly, in my experience.

Author: Seth Price
Category: Snack
Date published: 24 November 2019

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: About 10 servings

Ingredients

  • 350g (12oz) dried macaroni
  • 8 large eggs
  • 250g (1c) real mayonnaise, ± to taste
  • 2T dijon mustard
  • ½t prepared horseradish
  • 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
  • Generous dash smoked paprika
  • Pinch ground black pepper
  • Pinch grated nutmeg
  • Smidge ground cloves
  • Salt to taste
  • 100g (½c) diced sweet pickles (cucumber)
  • 100g (½c) diced meaty tomatoes
  • 50g (¼c) finely diced red onion
  • 50g (¼c) jarred diced pimiento peppers

Directions

  1. Combine pickles, tomatoes, onion and peppers in a colander, cheesecloth or other draining vessel to remove excess water content. If you prefer your macaroni salad a bit looser and not as dry, you can perhaps skip this step.
  2. Cook macaroni al dente in heavily salted water. Drain and rinse with cold water. Let pasta drain further till decently dry but not sticky and mushy. Again, you can skip this last part if you don’t like your macaroni salad dry.
  3. Hard-boil eggs. (My method: bring eggs in cold water to a boil, remove, cover for nine minutes and remove to an ice bath.) Let completely cool. Peel and separate yolks and whites. Chop up whites.
  4. In a large bowl, combine egg yolk, garlic and spices and stir till paste-like and homogenous. Add mustard and horseradish, stirring till homogenous. Add mayonnaise, stirring yet again till homogenous. Add macaroni, egg whites and vegetables, stirring to incorporate. Don’t overstir lest you break the pasta.
  5. Serve room temperature, perhaps garnished with a shake of extra paprika or some chopped green onions.