Mediterranean Pasta Salad

I swear I can be the most spastic person ever. Yesterday, I went to get a pedicure and even though I knew it was a hot stone massage, when the technician brought the stones to my station and placed it on my leg, I almost kicked my technician in the face because I didn’t hear her say that she was about to place it on me. I literally was like ‘holy crap what is this super hot thing on me?’ and flicked my shin and feet up in the air. Yeah, maybe giving me a pedicure is some sort of liability ;)

Also speaking of pedicures, the nail polish station where you choose a color. I think they need to give me a timer like the Jeopardy countdown or something. I literally take forever to choose a color. It’s like I’m making a huge decision or something. Just like paint swatches or pens or shirts…if you throw 50 colors in front of me with very similar shades, I just want to pick them all. Oh, and remember my Tieks post? Just like picking nail colors, picking three pairs of shoes was nearly impossible! Haha, please tell me you have similar issues…or do you have a go-to color for nails? I typically lean towards pinks and reds but there are always so many shades!

I was craving a cold Mediterranean pasta salad one afternoon and by golly, I went ahead and made one! They’re so easy to make and you can bring them to large parties and they’ll serve everyone! The most amount of work you’d have to do is chop up all the ingredients and boil water for the pasta so if you can handle that, you can totally whip up this pasta salad! I loved eating it cold out of the fridge. You know how in college (or maybe this was just me), you’d eat cold pizza or cold baked ziti or just anything cold from the fridge after a night of drinking? Well, this is the perfect pasta salad to actually eat cold and enjoy cold! It’s really refreshing on a hot summer day when you’re grilling out or taking it on a picnic. Yes, very picnic friendly since feta tends to not go bad as quick in the heat. Or at least that’s just my experience. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend sunbathing this pasta all day – just the normal sitting out at room temperature, ya know? Anyway! Enough rambling! Go gather the ingredients and toss this baby together!

5 from 3 votes

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Mediterranean Pasta Salad

This chilled Mediterranean pasta salad comes together in no time! 

Prep Time: 4 hrs

Total Time: 4 hrs

Servings (adjustable, but please note that results, timing, and cookware may vary when adjusting servings): 8 -10

Calories: 345kcal

Author: Julie Chiou

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Ingredients

• 1 pound of dried fusili/rotini pasta, or whichever pasta shape you like - bowties work well in this too1 pound of dried fusili/rotini pasta, or whichever pasta shape you like - bowties work well in this too
• 1 large cucumber, diced1 large cucumber, diced
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/2 red onion, diced1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped1 cup green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese1 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 5 ounces hard salami, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds and then quartered5 ounces hard salami, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds and then quartered
• 1/3 cup olive oil1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar*1/8 cup balsamic vinegar*
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box then drain well and place in a large bowl.
  Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box then drain well and place in a large bowl.
• Add the cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives, feta, and hard salami on top.
  Add the cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives, feta, and hard salami on top.
• In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
  In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
• Pour over pasta mixture and toss well to coat.
  Pour over pasta mixture and toss well to coat.
• Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours (I did 6 hours).
  Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours (I did 6 hours).
• Serve chilled.
  Serve chilled.

Notes

I used regular balsamic vinegar for this but a reader mentioned it turned her pasta salad a bit brown when she used regular balsamic. You can use white balsamic vinegar if you don't want to possibly get a brown tint.

Nutrition Facts

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 345 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Carbohydrates 25g8%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 10g20%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.