Mediterranean Pasta Salad

I love a good refreshing, hearty salad, especially if they involve Mediterranean flavors. This Mediterranean Pasta Salad is full of flavor and is great for all kinds of occasions. It is truly one of my favorite lunches.

I love to include this pasta when I do my meal prep days.  I can easily eat on this recipe for a few days, especially when it’s just me.  However, it is hearty enough to satisfy Mr. Cold Texan who is admittedly a meat and carbs man so every now and then I’ll throw it in the weekend rotation and we’re lucky if it lasts both days.

I use organic whole wheat bowtie pasta for that extra nutritional punch. I am not gonna lie, I have never really been a fan of whole wheat pasta because of the flavor, but it really works here!  If you want to try a gluten free version, I have tried this with quinoa pasta and it was delicious! But, it needs a touch more dressing.

To Make Mediterranean Pasta Salad:

Ingredients

• 1/2 whole wheat bowtie pasta
• 2 cups cubed cucumber
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 large red bell pepper cubed
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• Handful of kalamata olives, diced or whole
• 1/2 cup or 10 slices of salami or large pepperoni deli meat, cubed
• Small block of Feta cheese, cubed

For The Dressing

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove fresh garlic chopped (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
• 1/4 tsp Dill
• Salt and pepper to taste

Boil your pasta until it is al-dente, just still slightly chewy on the inside: 6-8 minutes depending on your pasta. Then drain all the pasta into a colander and run cold water over it to stop the cooking. Drizzle just a little olive oil over the pasta and mix it around to keep it from sticking together.

Then toss in fresh tomatoes, diced cucumber, some red bell pepper, a teensy bit of red onion, and some Kalamata olives. Then, dice up some tasty, salty feta cheese and throw it in. And, for a little meaty goodness to bulk it up, cut up some of your favorite salami or pepperoni.

For the dressing, I make use of my favorite homemade all purpose dressing. But, for a little variation, I dress it up with a little dried dill. Wait until you are ready to serve to pour the dressing over. The salt in the dressing can make some of the veggies wilt if it sits too long.

This Mediterranean pasta salad tastes great at room temperature, but my favorite way to have it is cold, straight out of the fridge.  If you are making this ahead, and not serving immediately, don’t add feta cheese or the olives right away, for the same reason mentioned above. They are salty and will make the other veggies go soft in a short amount of time.

Add this recipe into your meal prep rotation.  I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

[mpprecipe-recipe:37]

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