The Best Pasta Salad

This Pasta Salad is refreshing, bursting with flavours, and can be enjoyed either as a meal or as a side. With the summer just around the corner, this is the best Pasta Salad recipe to keep in your back pocket!

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 3 cups (300 grams) Pasta, small size, uncooked

• 1 Medium Yellow Bell Pepper, cubed

• 1 Medium Red/Orange Bell Pepper, cubed

• ½  Red Onion, finely chopped

• ¾ English Cucumber, halved and sliced 

• 1 cup (200 grams) Cherry/Grape Tomatoes, halved

• ½ cup Pitted Kalamata Olives, halved 

• 1½ cups (200 grams) Feta Cheese, crumbled

• 2 tbsp Parsley, finely chopped

For the Dressing

• ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar

• ½ cup Olive Oil

• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard

• 2 tsp Honey

• 1 Garlic Clove, finely grated, minced

• ½ tsp Lemon Zest

• ½ tsp Oregano, dried 

• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add salt and the pasta. Cook the pasta till al dente according to package directions. Once it’s cooked, drain it and run it under cool water. Let it drain thoroughly. To prevent the pasta from sticking, drizzle a little olive oil over it and then toss it around so it gets coated with the oil.

2. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing.  Add the red wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, grated garlic clove, lemon zest, crushed dried oregano, salt, and pepper in a mason jar.  Close the jar tightly with a lid and shake it until all the ingredients blend well and emulsify. Taste the dressing and adjust the salt, pepper, and honey to taste.  Keep it aside for later. You can also whisk the dressing together in a mixing bowl or add it into the bowl of a blender or food processor and whirl it up until well combined.

3. Now you can start chopping all the veggies for the salad and toss them into the bowl with the cooled pasta. 

4. Give the dressing a shake as it tends to settle before pouring 3/4 into the bowl.  

5. Give the salad a mix so that the dressing gets well distributed.

6. Add the feta cheese in big-size crumble pieces to the salad and pour on the remaining dressing.  Gently toss it together till just combined.

7. You can either serve the pasta salad right away or refrigerate until the flavors blend and the pasta soaks up the flavours of the dressing.