Mediterranean Pasta Salad

In college, I survived on pasta salad. It was my favorite lunch, and it’s the dish that made me enjoy eating raw broccoli. One of the great things about pasta salad is that you can pretty much put whatever you want into it and it will be great, and the ability to customize a dish in a low budget college kitchen is the holy grail of easy, but delicious recipes. It’s also great because you can use jarred/canned items as well. I love throwing in sun dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts in a pinch! The possibilities are endless really, and that what makes it such a good staple to have in mind.

This Mediterranean Pasta Salad is easy too. It’s basically boil the pasta and stir in your toppings! But I’m not always about easy- it’s got to taste good too, and this is my favorite pasta salad for so many reasons. I love the different flavors and textures; the crunch from the broccoli, the sweet acidity from the tomatoes, the earthiness from the olive oil and the salty kick from the olives and the feta. It will be a welcome addition to your next barbecue or pot luck for sure.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Yield: Serves 6-8 as a side dish

Ingredients

1 pound pasta (I prefer fusilli, but any small shape will do!)
1 large head of broccoli, chopped into bite size florets
2 large carrots, grated
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup black olives, sliced
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/4 cup (at least) good quality extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil to make a smooth dressing. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then pour pasta into a large bowl. Add the broccoli to the hot pasta to steam slightly.
While the pasta is still warm, pour a couple tablespoons of the dressing over the pasta and toss so that the pasta doesn’t stick together as it cools. Let it cool to room temperature, tossing now and again to help the cooling process and to prevent sticking.
When the pasta has cooled, add the carrots, tomatoes, olives and basil and stir until evenly distributed. Mix through the desired amount of dressing (I sometimes like it with less dressing!) and add the feta cheese crumbles.
Chill until ready to serve.

Notes

Recipe from Flick of the Whisk. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

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