italian-pasta-salad

Salad

pasta - use your favorite shape of pasta. I like to rotini or fusili because of how it holds on to the delicious Italian dressing in every crevice, bringing all the flavors in each bite.
salami
grape tomatoes
bell peppers
red onion
kalamata black olives
bocconcini mozzarella balls
fresh parsley
parmesan cheese

Make the pasta. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes or according to package instructions. Drain and rinse pasta under cold water to stop the cooking process and to cool the pasta down.
Toss ingredients. Transfer the pasta to a large mixing bowl or serving bowl. If not assembling the salad immediately, add some olive oil and toss together to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Otherwise, add remaining ingredients. Pour Italian salad dressing on top, and toss to combine.
Serve or chill. You can serve immediately with Parmesan on top, or cover the bowl tightly with plastic cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. This will allow all the flavours to infuse into each other. When ready to serve, give the salad a good toss and add a little more dressing, if desired.

Recipe Details