Mediterranean Pasta Salad
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Enjoy a tasty pasta salad that offers complex carbs, fiber, and nutrients to help you maintain energy and health.
Pasta Salad with Veggies
We’ve traveled to Italy many many times and we’ve eaten a LOT of fabulous foods! Some of these trips have been to visit family and others have been super special occasions!
Hey, one of our trips even invovled working a winery harvesting grapes! Oh, gosh, what an experience. It’s a MUST READ!
I’ve even learned how to make tomato sauce and Tuscan Liver pate from the best in Florence, Italy. Check it out!
What I love about the Italian lifestyle and food is that food is central to lifestyle.
And, Italian food is always fresh and prepared with simple close to the earth ingredients.
Vegetarian Pasta Salad
There are so many health benefits to this pasta salad.
- Rich in Fiber: Vegetables like bell peppers, cucumbers, and spinach are packed with fiber, which aids in digestion and helps maintain a healthy weight.
- Packed with Nutrients: Vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, and folate.
- Complex Carbs: Whole grain pasta offers complex carbohydrates, which provide long-lasting energy and help stabilize blood sugar levels.
- Antioxidants: Veggies like tomatoes, spinach, and olives are rich in antioxidants, which help fight inflammation and support overall health.
- Healthy Fats: Adding olive oil or avocado provides healthy fats that are good for heart health and maintaining cholesterol levels.
Pasta and Veggie Salad
Want to give your Mediterranean Pasta Salad a unique twist? Try these things.
- Roasted Veggies: Roasting the bell peppers, zucchini, or even carrots brings out their sweetness and adds a depth of flavor.
- Herb-Infused Oil: Try infusing your olive oil with garlic, rosemary, or chili flakes for a more flavorful dressing.
- Grilled Chicken or Tofu: Add some grilled chicken or marinated tofu for a protein boost.
- Citrus Zest: Add a little lemon or orange zest for a refreshing burst of flavor.
- Nuts or Seeds: Besides sunflower seeds, try adding pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or slivered almonds for crunch.
Best Italian Pasta Salad
Now no one loves pasta more than me!
And, I’m always developing healthy recipes to highlight not only pasta but also the other ingredients.
Many of these recipes are inspired by my travels to the Mediterranean area multiple times over the decades.
Click here for some fabulous ideas!
Veggie Pasta Salad Dressing
I believe that the salad dressing for any salad should not overshadow the beautiful healthy vibrant vegetables in the salad.
For that reason, most all of my salad dressings are simple. A punch of citrus to go with the healthy oil (olive oil and avocado oil most often).
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry pasta, preferably small pasta, prepared per instructions, set aside, drizzle with about a tablespoon of EVOO to keep it from sticking
- 2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 8 cups of a variety of your favorite fresh vegetables, diced and prepared for the salad (I used green onions, red bell pepper, broccolini, carrots, purple cabbage, sugar snap peas, peas (previously frozen), zucchini, green olives sliced, )
- 1/2 cup parmesan reggiano, shredded
- 1/2 cup fresh herbs, chopped well, fresh dill, parsley, lemon thyme, chives, basil
- DRESSING
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- l large lemon, juice only
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta, Drain. Drizzle with a tablepsoon of EVOO. Set aside to cool somewhat.
- Assemple and prepare veggies. Dice into bite size pieces.
- In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, put one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and diced broccolini and zucchini (or any veggie that you want tenderized somewhat) and sautee a few minutes until tender. Turn off heat. Set aside.
- In a large serving bowl, put the cooked pasta. Add the veggies, any skillet sauteed veggies, grated parmesan, fresh herbs. Give it a toss.
- Drizzle on the EVOO, lemon juice, salt and pepper (to taste). Mix well. Ready to eat!
Notes
Wash all of your veggies WELL! Even if they're organice, WASH!
It's totally optional to briefly sautee and tenderize some of your veggies. I did the broccolini and zucchini with the garlic. IF you don't sautee any of the veggies, still sautee the garlic to go into the pasta salad.
