Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Pasta salads are like an ice cream party where you line up the ingredients and pick out what you want. So have some fun with this.
What’s also great about pasta salads is there’s no leafy greens to wilt from the dressing, making leftovers unpleasant. But if you want some leafy greens, like spinach or arugula, put some on your plate or bowl and spoon the pasta salad over them.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups regular, gluten-free or grain-free pasta, cooked
- pieces of cooked chicken, extra firm (no water) tofu, cut in triangles
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 2 Persian cucumbers, halved and sliced
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- 10 basil leaves, rolled and sliced (chiffonade)
- salad dressing (below)
- pine nuts
- Trader Joe’s Feta with Mediterranean herbs or shaved parmesan
- spinach or arugula leaves for under the salad (optional)
Other options are:
blanched broccoli florets
garbanzo beans
kalamata olives
mozzarella balls
sliced mushrooms
diced red pepper
canned artichoke hearts
cut up tomatoes
torn mint leaves
Instructions
For cooked chicken place 2 chicken breasts in a zip lock bag and pound to an even 1/2″ to 3/4″. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium high. Drizzle with avocado oil and swirl the pan. Add the chicken to the pan. Let sear for 4 minutes without moving the chicken. Flip over and sear the other side for 4 minutes or until cooked through. Let rest then slice.
To make the salad put the pasta, tofu or chicken, onions, cucumber, parsley and basil in a bowl. Drizzle the salad dressing over the salad ingredients and toss to coat. Sprinkle with raw pine nuts and feta cheese.
Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup light olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped (not minced)
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake until well blended.
