The Store Cold Ziti Salad
From Amagansett, Long Island, via Joan Michel, via Chris Michel, via Windy Corner Market
Ingredients
1 ½ T salt
2 T oil
1# ziti
¼ c milk
1 red onion, small diced
6 sweet gherkins or ⅓ cup bread and butter pickles, small diced
2 small green peppers, small diced
½ c sour cream
1 ½ c mayo
2 packets of G Washington Brown Bouillon powder
Dash of fresh pepper
Dash of apple cider vinegar
1 T pickle juice
Handful of chopped fresh dill
Handful of chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Bring a 4-quart saucepan of water to a boil. Add 1T salt & 2 T oil, then add the ziti. Boil for 10 minutes or until just tender, stirring occasionally. Drain. Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Drain again.
Place the cooked ziti in a bowl. Add enough milk to thoroughly moisten the ziti and toss.
Combine the sour cream and mayonnaise, add bouillon powder, ½ T salt, the pepper, vinegar & pickle juice. (Thin with milk if necessary). Pour over ziti, add vegetables and herbs (saving some of each for garnish). Mix well.
Garnish with reserved vegetables and herbs.
Note: 2 tomatoes, small diced were called for in the original recipe. We recommend including them if you’re serving your ziti salad right away but not if it’s going to sit for a while as it waters it down.
A little back story
When Chef Ouita’s husband Chris Michel was a little boy, his family spent summers at their beach house in East Hampton. His mother Joan liked to visit the local library and came home one day with a stack of cookbooks. Among the stack was The Store Cookbook by Bert Greene and Denis Vaughan.
Bert and Denis were the proprietors of a popular food store in Amagansett named, naturally, The Store. Their best-selling dish was this Ziti Salad, and Joan’s version of it appeared frequently on the Michel family table. Sadly, Joan passed away earlier this year so it’s nice to remember her when we enjoy dishes like this.
Its secret ingredient is G. Washington Brown Seasoning and Broth, available through specialty mail-order directly from its maker. G. Washington Brown Seasoning came to fame at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and was included in K rations for U.S. armed forces in WWII.
Until they published a cookbook, making their recipes widely available, Bert and Denis catered to a very exclusive NYC clientele. This summer, make like a ‘70s socialite and make this Ziti Salad for your next patio soirée. Hèrmes scarf and Jackie O. sunglasses strictly optional.
© 2022, Holly Hill Inn/Ilex Summit, LLC and its affiliates, All Rights Reserved
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Inspiration for Your Spring Table
It’s (finally!) springtime in Kentucky. What will you celebrate? An Easter brunch, a Derby party for friends and family, a Mother’s Day or graduation dinner? Here’s how the flavors of springtime in Kentucky inspire Chef Ouita Michel. “Kentucky in spring is for us, the beginning of our culinary year. We focus on traditional Kentucky dishes done our way. We must make cheese wafers, chive-scented spoonbread, fresh asparagus, local lamb, and mint juleps.” Ouita Michel.
