Greek Pasta Salad

I posted this picture on Instagram and Facebook the other day and got a lot of comments and ‘likes’ about it.  Clearly you are all as into bright, colourful, fresh veggies about as much as I am!  As I was cutting up the cherry tomatoes I looked across the counter at my other ingredients and realized that this salad incorporates all kinds of colours and flavours.  It really does brighten the mood.  Eat the rainbow!

We were attending a backyard barbecue turkey boil (!) for our friend Jessica’s birthday and when we started discussing salads to bring I really wanted to do something Greek.  Maybe I’m really starting to miss actually being there last year!

I wanted to make sure the dish was big enough to feed the whole party so I decided to ‘beef things up’ by rounding out the veggies with a box of pasta.  A little twist I’m sure the Greeks would tsk-tsk me for but otherwise I didn’t stray far from the delicious Greek salads we enjoyed on vacay last year.

Greek-Style Pasta Salad with Easy Oregano Dressing

Yields enough to feed about a dozen people at a potluck :)

Ingredients:

• 1 (454 gram) box rotini (or small pasta of choice…orzo would be fun)
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 English cucumber, quartered and chopped
• 1 orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 125 grams feta cheese, cubed small

Homemade Oregano Dressing:

• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• zest & juice of half a lemon
• liberal pinches of salt & pepper
• 4 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.  Drain and immediately rinse thoroughly with cold water.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
2. While pasta is cooking, chop veggies, olives and cheese.
3. Prepare dressing by adding all ingredients to a sealable container (I use a small mason jar) and shake until combined.  Shake occasionally until ready to use.
4. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of feta, then mix all pasta, veggies, olives and cheese in a large bowl (use your hands!).  Add dressing and toss until coated.  Transfer to serving dish and garnish with reserved, crumbled feta.
5. Cover and chill until ready to eat.

Simple, fresh, salty.  I think the Greeks I met on vacation would be OK with this one!  Opa!  Enjoy.  :)