Pasta salads are hit and miss….usally more miss. The reasons why a pasta salad may flop could be too much fat (usually mayonaisse), too much acid, the pasta is tossed while still warm or hot, pasta is under-seasoned or simply no flavour. I created this pasta salad with an eye on flavour and the other on keeping it healthy and flavourful.
When making pasta salads, this is the one time that you should rinse your pasta salad until cooled. Season the pasta water well then rinse quickly under cold water and strain. The goal here is to have firm pasta and to not have the warm pasta discolour your herbs. No one likes a brown pasta salad.
I chose farfalle as my pasta of choice but I think penne would work here as well. Pasta salads beg for fresh herbs – use what’s in your garden…I used fresh basil and oregano in this instance. I side-stepped mayo and chose healthy full-fat yogurt. It’s fat content is still nowhere near what cream has, it’s more flavourful than those reduced-fat yogurts and besides…the fat from the milk waas mechanically removed. Go full fat baby!
There’s some shredded carrot for some sweetness and colour, a diced pickle, sun-dried tomatoes and briny Greek Feta cheese. Don’t forget baby spinach, scallions and chives, oregano & basil, wine vinegar and Greek extra-virgin olive oil! Add all the ingredients then check/adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. This will be the pasta salad they’ll talk about at the pot luck, BBQ or picnic – enjoy!
Pasta Salad With Feta & Sun-dried Tomato & Spinach
(serves 4)
1 1/2 cups of farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
1 cup baby spinach, rinsed and pat-dry
8 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
1 cup of grated carrot
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 dill pickle, diced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup of diced Feta cheese
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
chopped chives for garnish
- Place a large pot of water on your stove-top and bring to a boil. Add a good amount of salt and cook according to instructions then quickly rinse under cold water and strain well.
- In the meantime, chop, slice and dice your ingredients and add into a large bowl (except the olive oil, vinegar and yogurt). Add the pasta into the bowl and gently toss. Now mix the olive oil, yogurt and vinegar in a small bowl then add to the pasta salad and stir in along with the chopped fresh herbs and cubes of Feta.
- Now have a taste and adjust seasoning. Serve room temperature or chilled with chopped chives for garnish.
That really does look sooo good!
Thanks for all the valuable tips.
You’re right about pasta salads. They’re often soggy and drenched in oil. I like to dress the pasta separately, while it’s warm, and let it cool completely. Then drain off the dressing that didn’t get absorbed, and add the remaining ingredients.
Πεντανόστιμη σαλάτα!!!
καταπληκτικη, δροσερη καλοκαιρινη γεματη αρωματα!
nice big batch of this made early in the week and i have lunch covered for days.
pasta salad is a miss with me too when the dressing is awful.
this one is a keeper
A lovely salad! Perfect for taking on a picnic or eaten in the garden.
Cheers,
Rosa
Peter συνδύασες ένα σωρό νόστιμα υλικά και έφτιαξες μια εξαιρετικη και χορταστική σαλάτα!
Φιλιά!
Oh my gosh, Peter, this is everything I love in a pasta salad, and more!
I can’t wait to try this with whole wheat orzo…it looks like the perfect combination of flavors! Thanks for an inspirational post!
Yep, I would be talking about this pasta salad too:D
I haven’t made one of these in years…you offer great cooking advice regarding the salad’s prep. And def yes to the full fat yoghurt!
I’m not a big fan of pasta salads either, but this one looks too tempting Peter and summer is the time for these dishes.
I love your use of Greek yogurt instead of a lot of heavy mayo. This sounds like a wonderful summer salad.
Συμφωνώ για όλα όσα είπες για τις σαλάτες με ζυμαρικά. Ειδικά για το ξέπλυμα και τη μαγιονέζα. Πολύ καλή παρουσίαση και συνταγή!
I made this tonight, and it was amazing! I used Barilla Plus Rotini instead of the bowtie pasta. I also used some 18 year aged balsamic vinegar in place of the wine vinegar. I even used some fresh oregano from my garden. This flavors in the salad complement each other very well. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Mouthwatering and I love the addition of yogurt.
Made your Pasta Salad with Feta, Sun Dried tomato’s and Spinach (well, Romain cuz i didn’t have spinach! lol) IT was a huge it, definately a keep receipe. LOVE the addition of dill pickle, didn’t need extra salt because of the feta and with using fat free greek yogurt, it was good for us too! THANKS!
Made this tonight for a large group and got tons of compliments on it! Verrry tasty!