Colorful vegetarian pasta salad

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g pasta of your choice (e.g. spirelli)
• salt water
• 150 g peas (frozen)
• 300 g bell pepper(s), red and yellow
• 150 g reduced-fat cheese
• 100 g gherkins
• 1 cup sour cream
• possibly natural yogurt
• salt and pepper
• Sugar
• Paprika powder, sweet
• some cucumber juice
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp oil (sunflower oil)
• 1 egg(s), hard-boiled, if desired

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

with vegetables and cheese, without mayo

Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente and drain. Thaw the peas, wash the bell peppers, and roughly dice them. Dice the cheese and cucumber. Carefully mix everything with the pasta. Caution: Wait until the pasta has cooled slightly, or the cheese will melt. For the dressing, mix the sour cream with a little liquid from the pickle jar, vinegar, and oil. I usually start with 2 tablespoons of pickle liquid and 1 tablespoon of vinegar, then slowly increase the amounts. However, the right amount always depends on the acidity of the pickle water. Now add plenty of paprika powder until the sauce looks a little pink. Season to taste with a pinch of sugar, salt, and pepper. If you want to let the pasta salad sit for a while before serving, you can dilute the sauce with a little natural yogurt and only stir about 2/3 of the sauce into the salad, adding the rest just before serving. Otherwise, the pasta will absorb a lot of the sauce, and the salad can become a little dry. If you want to eat the salad right away, you can skip the yogurt and just fold in the whole sauce. If you like, you can top the pasta salad with a hard-boiled, chopped egg before serving. The pasta salad is delicious and will appeal to (almost) everyone. This recipe serves 4 people as a main course, but it’s also perfect for barbecues or buffets; the specified amount will naturally serve more people.