hawaiian maccaroni salad

By Carolben

Why this recipe works:

Hawaiians cook the macaroni for their Hawaiian Macaroni Salad until it’s “fat," or very soft. Turns out they know what they’re doing. While overcooking the pasta seems like a bad idea, it actually enables the macaroni to absorb more dressing. The dressing for our Hawaiian Macaroni Salad had to… read more
Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

• Low-fat milk or mayonnaise will make the dressing too thin.
• Ingredients
• 2 2 2 cups whole milk (see note)
• 2 2 2 cups mayonnaise (see note)
• 1 1 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 4 4 4 scallions, sliced thin
• 1 1 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 1 1 celery rib, chopped fine

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions

1. MAKE DRESSING Whisk 1½ cups milk, 1 cup mayonnaise, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper in bowl.

2. COOK PASTA Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta and cook until very soft, about 15 minutes. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add vinegar and toss until absorbed. Transfer to bowl. Cool pasta 10 minutes, then stir in dressing until pasta is well coated. Cool completely.