In the summer it's always nice to have a variety of salads up your sleeve to take to a family gathering or serve up when you're grilling on the deck. This salad is packed with vegetables and lightly kissed with a homemade balsamic dressing so it's light and fresh without the oily, heavy feel that sometimes comes with pasta salads. We love it alongside grilled meats and a light, tossed green salad to make a great dinner. The leftover salad is wonderful tucked into a school lunchbox or packed along for a picnic and is so easy all you do is boil up some pasta, chop some veggies, toss everything together, and voila! Dinner is on its way.
Ingredients:
2 cups fusilli pasta
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 sweet yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Dressing:
3 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp honey
salt and pepper
squirt of mustard
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside.
Toss the pasta with tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, feta, olives, and dill.
Measure the dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Screw on the lid and give it a shake until everything is well mixed together. Drizzle over the pasta and toss. You don’t have to use all the dressing, we typically use some and put the rest in the fridge for another day. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the pasta immediately or chill for about an hour before serving.
Serves 4
Looking for more salads? You may like to try my very veggie potato salad, creamy broccoli salad, or a tasty green salad with avocado, butter lettuce, and radishes.
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