Tucked neatly into the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge at Walt Disney World Resort is Boma, Flavors of Africa. The buffet meal is by far my favorite of any one-priced meal at Disney World. As an adult, I honestly never crave Mickey-shaped waffles or a 1500-calorie purple donut, but exotic food gets me a little bit gung ho. At Boma, my most beloved items are (in order of preference) the oxtail stew, the pasta salad, the carrot-ginger soup, and the couscous salad.
While I have made the oxtail soup many times (it takes hours), this was my first attempt at the pasta salad. It was fantastic, and it had to be grand because it was my mother’s day gift to myself. (Giving yourself a gift on mother’s day and your birthday is a highly recommended idea, by the way). There is just enough curry to give it a punch, without it being overwhelming for those who aren’t curry freaks like me. While this was a simple and easy recipe, I realized along the way that there are some secrets to making it sensational.
Now, one thing that you won’t have at home or your campsite is walking through the majestic lobby of Animal Kingdom Lodge, or walking out on the veranda to see the zebras and giraffes. To improvise, I invite my cats into the kitchen for our mutual entertainment. Now, on to this glorious recipe.
First of all, there are a couple of different recipes out on the web. I found the older one to taste more like Boma’s, and even then, I adapted it just a little. Secondly, it is critically important to chop up the vegetables in teeny, tiny pieces. The juices from them contribute greatly to the recipe’s unique flavor. Finally, the brand of mayo is important. I use Blue Plate for almost everything (I’m from the south and rarely use Duke’s by the way). It’s likely that Boma uses either Hellman’s or Sysco’s Imperial, as these provide the thickness needed in a good pasta salad (particularly when it is prepared ahead of time).
Boma African Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 oz rotini pasta Boma uses tri-color
- 1 1/4 cup mayonnaise Blue Plate or Hellman's
- 1 large green bell pepper chopped very finely
- 1 large red bell pepper chopped very finely
- 3/4 cup celery chopped very finely
- 3/4 cup red onion chopped very finely
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp prepared garlic
- 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
- 1 tbsp curry powder can add a little more to taste
- 3/4 tbsp ground turmeric
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the noodles as directed on package. Drain and let cool.
- Combine remaining ingredients and stir into pasta.
