Zesty Italian Pasta Salad With Salami
This summertime Zesty Italian Pasta Salad is a light yet satisfying chilled pasta salad made with tender pasta, an assortment of fresh vegetables for added crunch, salami, cheese, and a homemade salad dressing.
Ingredients
For Pasta Salad
- 1 cup mini mozzarella balls, whole or halved
- 13 plum or cherry tomatoes, I used tri-color, halved
- ½ red onion, medium dice
- 1 cup fresh cucumber, sliced and seeds removed (I cut the cucumber in half and removed the seeds with a fruit scoop)
- ½ cup black olives, green or purple would also taste delicious here
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- 10 oz salami, smaller dice (or other Italian sausage, or kielbasa)
- 15 oz pasta, fusilli, rotini, farfalle, or any other pasta that has little curves that the dressing gets stuck in
- ½ cup bell pepper, diced (red tastes better as it is sweeter and balances the salty flavors well)
Pasta Salad Dressing
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon
- 1 teaspoon Maple syrup
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package directions (al dente). Add a little salt to your pasta. Once cooked, drain the pasta in a colander and let cool down or even chill in the fridge before stirring with other ingredients. (We are going after a cold salad here).
- For faster cooling, arrange pasta on a baking sheet while you cut other ingredients.
- Make the dressing. In a mixing jug or mason jar with a lid, combine dressing ingredients and stir/shake well. Let stand (fridge or room temperature) for 15-30 minutes for flavors of the dressing to blend nicely.
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients and salami by cutting them and arrange in a large bowl. Add in the pasta and stir in the dressing. Taste for seasoning.
- For better flavor, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour. It is however optional.
- I love to serve this delicious salad with some sprinkled parmesan cheese on top.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!