Southwest Pasta Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Chipotle Ranch Dressing:
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 teaspoon white vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
About 15 shakes of Chipotle Tabasco sauce (use more or less to taste)
Mash the garlic and salt to a paste, we used a mortar and pestle, but you can use the side of a knife too.

In a medium plastic container, whisk together the garlic, mayonnaise, buttermilk, parsley, chives, scallion, vinegar and pepper to taste. If the dressing is too thick, add a little more of the buttermilk.  Add the tabasco to taste.  Hint: If you make sure that all of the ingredients are really cold, then tasting it will yield a better idea of adjustments.  Tasting it a little bit warm, it’s not as good.  Close the container and put in the refrigerator to combine the flavors for at least an hour.

Pasta Salad:
3 lbs. Gemelli pasta (or whatever you like, I find that the Gemelli is hearty enough to stand up to this)
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced (if tomatoes are in season, use whatever you have on hand)
1 can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 big handful of fresh chopped parsley
1 bunch scallions chopped.

Cook the pasta according to directions, then rinse and cool (I just run cold water over it) and drain thouroghly.  Add all the ingredients to a very large plastic container (I buy the rubbermaid containers at the supermarket whenever they’re on sale).  Add the dressing and toss thoroughly to combine.  I like to put the salad in the fridge for a bit to chill a little, but you could certainly serve it at this point.  Serves a whole lot of people and hold up very well for up to 3 days in the fridge.

This recipe can be halved, doubled, tripled, whatever you need, it translates very well.