Ham and Pepper Pasta Salad

Very nice dish. Can easily be halfed or less to make it a evening dinner for two. I swapped out the sour cream for creme fresche just because my local had none - made little difference. I also forgot Garlic but again, very nice and very creamy. You could tweak the amount of ham I think but overall it definately suited a evening meal.  -  26 Jul 2012

WOW!!!! What a really good recipe!! I always thought I made a mean pasta salad, but this recipe makes me want to chuck mine out the window! While I wouldn't recommend changing a thing, I did try adding a couple of things that might be worth your time trying: cubed cucumbers, sliced black olives, and different colored sweet peppers. Something to note as well: when you first make this salad, it almost appears as if there might be too much dressing. If you chill it overnight, or even for a few hours, the dressing homogenizes itself and you have just the right amount. Thank you, Karena, for this great recipe!  -  05 Jul 2005  (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)

This recipe is the best salad recipe on this site...trust me! I usually double the recipe and use two green peppers, one red pepper and one orange pepper to make it more colorful. I prefer to use cavatappi pasta though as I think it does a great job at holding the sauce, more so than ziti would. Everyone who tries this is left guessing what exactly makes it so good. I think its the pickle juice. If anyone wonders how much a double recipe of this gives you, well it fits perfectly in the large Tupperware "Thatsa Bowl" which makes an ideal amount for picnics and gatherings. This salad still tastes great 3-4 days after you make it, so make a lot as leftovers will be appreciated by many. One recommendation I have for this recipe is the addition of grated parmesan cheese. Just sprinkle about 1/4 cup over the completed dish and stir it in. I also add a sprinkling of oregano. This dish is a great recipe and minor alterations and additions can easily be made to suite various palates. Thanks for adding such a great recipe Karena. It may take awhile to cut up all the veggies but it is definitely worth the effort!  -  28 Jun 2004  (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)