To break away from the usual pasta shapes, Sunny Anderson selects pearled couscous as the star of her pasta salad. While demonstrating her simple recipe on an episode of “The Kitchen,” via YouTube, she suggests considering the SASHA acronym (Sweet, Acidic, Salt, Heat, and Allium) as a guide to create a well-rounded dressing for pasta salad. She assembles her dressing using ingredients like honey, orange juice, salt, Dijon mustard, olive oil, and black pepper. While her dressing components might not precisely align with all the SASHA categories (technically she’s missing an allium), it serves as a handy tool for inspiration when preparing any marinade or dressing.

In Anderson’s peas and pasta salad, she adds Worcestershire sauce to the dressing. Worcestershire sauce, known for its complex flavor profile from ingredients like anchovies, tamarind, garlic, and spices, is an easy way to add instant umami boost to any dish. When incorporated into a pasta salad dressing, it adds an often-needed depth of flavor.