Food Share: Philippine Sweet Macaroni Salad

Another food share for the day and this time is one of my favorite pasta dishes- the Philippine Sweet Macaroni Salad. In every gathering or special events in Filipino household, usually this dish is served as a dessert or a sweet treat to thank all the guests for coming. Traditionally, the pasta that is used for this dish is the elbow macaroni, but with mine, I used the Ditalini, which is short tubes; like the elbows, but shorter and without the bend. You can practically use elbow or Gomito, Ditalini, seashell shaped pasta, Rotelle, even Fiori- the flower shaped pasta. I would say that it is best to use the pasta that has nooks and crannies for the sauce to get in to, in that way the pasta taste a lot better. Although the recipe calls for Nata de Coco, I omitted the use of it since my husband is not a fan of it. Instead, I just put tons of fruit cocktail to add flavor and more color. I also put cream cheese spread in the pasta right after you drain it since it is still hot and steamy, so the spread will melt into the pasta and adds more flavor to the dish. Awesome!


Here's a very simple and quick recipe.
Yield: 6 servings
You'll need:
-1 cup elbow macaroni pasta
-2 Tbsps. cream cheese spread
-1 cup raisins
-1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
-1 ½ cups nata de coco (coconut gel), drained
-1 cup sweetened condensed milk or more according to your taste
-1 can of Nestle Cream or more if you desire
-1 cup real mayonnaise
-1 large can of Fruit cocktail
-Cooking pot
-Colander
-Mixing bowl
-Spatula
-Cling plastic wrap

Here's How:

Step 1: In a cooking pot, boil the macaroni pasta until Al dente. Or follow the instructions that came in with the package. Make sure to put salt in the water to season the pasta. When done, drain the water. Set aside and let it cool for about 15 minutes.

Step 2: After the pasta has cooled, transfer the macaroni into a large mixing bowl. Pour the rest of the ingredients and combine them together until well mixed.

Step 3: Cover the mixing with a plastic wrapper or with a lid, and refrigerate for at least an hour or you can even make this ahead so the pasta will have time to really absorb the flavors.

Step 4: Serve cold in individual containers. 

Let me know if you tried some! Enjoy!