Italian Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad is bow tie pasta tossed with grilled vegetables, salami, olives, chickpeas and a zesty Italian dressing. It's the ultimate pasta salad!
Ingredients
For the pasta salad:
- 1/2 lb. Barilla farfalle pasta
- 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium zucchini sliced lengthwise into 1/4" thickness
- 1 red bell pepper cored (cut from top to bottom on each side of the pepper)
- 1 yellow bell pepper (cut from top to bottom on each side of the pepper)
- 15 ounces chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cubed (or mozzarella balls halved)
- 3.3 ounces black olives
- 4 ounces salami cut into 1" pieces
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion cut into 1/2" pieces
- 1/2 cup basil sliced into chiffonade*
- Homemade Italian Dressing
Instructions
Prepare the pasta salad:
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, and cook according to package instructions. Place in a colander, rinse with cold water, and drain.
- While the pasta water is coming to a boil, preheat the grill to medium high. Toss the zucchini with the 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and place on the grill. Grill 2-3 minutes per side until charred and softened and remove from heat. Cut into 1" pieces.
- Place the red bell peppers cut side UP and cook until the outer skin is almost completely blackened, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat, place in a bowl, and cover with foil. After 5 minutes, remove from the bowl and peel off the blackened skin and chop into 1" pieces.
- Place the pasta in a large bowl. Add the grilled zucchini, peppers, chickpeas, cheese, olives, salami, red onion, and basil.
Prepare the vinaigrette:
- Whisk the vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, lemon juice, and oregano in a small bowl until combined. Whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a slow steady stream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and add the desired amount of vinaigrette to the pasta salad and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature or make in advance and serve chilled. Enjoy!
Notes
- *To chiffonade basil, place the fresh basil leaves in a stack, and roll lengthwise, then cut perpendicular to the roll.
- This salad may be made in advance and stored covered in the fridge. Use just enough dressing to coat, then add a bit more before serving if it seems a bit dry.
- This salad is very customizable and perfect to make with whatever you have on hand!
Nutrition
Calories: 385kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 44mg, Sodium: 838mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 6g
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
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