Saturday Salads: Springtime Pasta Salad
So I think we've managed to bypass most of spring and head right on in to the pre-summer time of year. It's beautiful today and the temps are in the upper 70s. Just right for a really good pasta salad.
This one combines some of my favorites - peppers, cheese and balsamic vinegar!
Fresh Springtime Pasta Salad - courtesy of tatortotsand jello.com
Ingredients:
1 pound bowtie pasta
1/2 pound cheese, cubed (choose any or all varieties - I used muenster and cheddar)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
2 cups mini tomatoes
1 can artichoke hearts
1 (.7 ounce) package dry, Italian-style salad dressing mix
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Cook al dente. Drain and cool.
In a large bowl, combine the cooled, cooked pasta with the cubed cheese, mini tomatoes, diced artichoke hearts, diced bell peppers.
Sprinkle the package of dry salad dressing mix into the bowl and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate for 60 minutes or more.
While the salad is in the fridge, mix the dressing by blending (or whisking) together the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, oregano, parsley, grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
When you're ready, pour dressing over the salad, mix well and serve!
Notes:
I would probably add extra peppers. Some green might be nice, it seems to be lacking in the green. I used only 12 ounces of pasta, and that was plenty. I'm not sure if my peppers weren't big enough, but the salad seems to be lacking something. Something green for sure, I might add some chopped green onions to it, but it seems like there's lots of room for extra stuff. Go for it and fill it up!
