Monday, August 15, 2016

Mediterranean Pasta Salad


Recently I had the most amazing pasta salad from my local grocery store.  I knew I had to recreate it and I am so happy with how it turned out.  I don't mean to toot my own horn, buuuuut toot toot!  It was amazing!!  I knew I had to share it with you guys and bonus it's SO easy.


What you'll need:
-12 ounces cooked farfalle (bowtie) pasta
-1 cucumber (diced)
-1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved)
-1/2 red onion (sliced)
-1/2 cup pitted kalmata olives (I cut them in half)
(I didn't add these, but you could also add sun dried tomatoes or diced bell pepper)
-1 container (5 oz.) crumbled feta cheese
-3/4 cup balsalmic dressing (I used a 'white balsamic and honey' salad dressing from my local grocery store... you may want to use a little more or less dressing)
-1 teaspoon honey
-pinch of red pepper flakes
-salt and pepper to taste
-chopped basil (I topped the salad with a ton of basil because I love basil, add as much as you'd like)

What to do:
1. Cook the pasta, drain, and then run cold water over it for about 30 seconds so that it's no longer hot.

2. Put the pasta in a large bowl and mix in the cucumber, tomato, red onion, olives, and feta cheese.  Mix well.

3. Drizzle the balsalmic dressing, honey, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes over the salad and mix in the feta cheese.

4. Top with chopped basil.

That's it!  Easy peasey right!  This salad is perfect for a weeknight dinner or a barbecue with friends.  When I made this salad, I also made grilled chicken (which I marinated in the same balsalmic dressing that I used in the salad).  Oh and rosè paired very well with this meal :).  The only downside of this meal is that you can't really make it the day before, the veggies get pretty soggy.

I'm obsessed with our  outdoor wine glasses, plus they're on sale right now!

I hope you guys enjoy this salad as much as my family did!

Xo

Marisa

Oh and shocker, our resident foodie LOVED this pasta salad!



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