Char's Pasta Salad

Shell pasta, cubed ham, hard-boiled eggs, and a Dijon-garlic mayonnaise dressing. This is a no-fuss pasta salad built from ingredients most people already have on hand, and it takes about as long to make as the pasta takes to cook and the eggs take to boil.

The dressing is dead simple: mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and minced garlic stirred together. No vinegar, no herbs, no complicated emulsification. The Dijon adds a sharp, peppery bite that keeps the mayo from tasting flat, and the raw garlic gives it just enough edge to wake up the palate.

Chopped hard-boiled eggs do double duty. They add protein alongside the ham, and their crumbly yolks break down slightly when mixed, thickening the dressing and giving it a richer, creamier texture. Shell pasta catches and holds the dressing and small bits of egg and ham inside their curves, so every forkful delivers the full flavor.

This is the kind of salad that shows up at potlucks and disappears first. Unpretentious, satisfying, and easy to scale up for a crowd.

Kitchen Tips

• Cool the pasta completely before mixing with the dressing. Hot pasta melts the mayo and turns the salad greasy.
• Chop the eggs while still slightly warm. They cut more cleanly than fully chilled eggs, which tend to crumble unevenly.
• Make it ahead if you can. An hour in the fridge lets the dressing soak into the pasta and the flavors meld.

Variations

• Pickle crunch: Add ⅓ cup of chopped dill pickles and a splash of pickle juice for tang and crunch.
• Veggie loaded: Toss in diced celery, red onion, and green peas to bulk it up with vegetables.
• Turkey club version: Replace ham with diced turkey and crumbled bacon for a club sandwich-inspired salad.