Description
Savor the delightful Italian pasta salad that combines zesty Mediterranean flavors with fresh ingredients. Crisp vegetables, tangy dressing, and al dente pasta create a perfect summer dish you’ll crave at picnics and gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 3 cups (720 milliliters) rotini pasta
- 1 pint (475 milliliters) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 English cucumber, halved and sliced
- Sliced hard salami, halved
- Optional: Sliced black olives
Seasonings:
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) black pepper
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) garlic powder
- 3–4 tablespoons (45–60 grams) salad supreme seasoning
Dressing:
- 1/2 bottle zesty Italian dressing
Instructions
- Cook rotini pasta in heavily salted water for 7-8 minutes until perfectly tender. Immediately drain and rinse under cold water to halt cooking process, ensuring pasta remains crisp and cool.
- Prepare fresh ingredients by halving cherry tomatoes into vibrant bite-sized pieces, slicing cucumber into elegant half-moon shapes, and cutting salami into smaller, manageable portions.
- Transfer cooled pasta into a spacious mixing bowl, creating a foundation for the salad. Gently incorporate prepared tomatoes, cucumber, and salami, ensuring even distribution without crushing delicate ingredients.
- Enhance flavor profile by sprinkling black pepper, aromatic garlic powder, and zesty salad supreme seasoning across the mixture. Carefully fold seasonings throughout to guarantee uniform taste.
- Drizzle Zesty Italian dressing generously over the assembled ingredients. Toss delicately to ensure every component receives a harmonious coating of tangy dressing.
- Optional: Introduce sliced black olives for an additional layer of complexity, providing contrasting texture and rich Mediterranean essence.
- Refrigerate salad for minimum 60 minutes, allowing flavors to intermingle and develop a more profound, sophisticated taste profile before serving chilled.
Notes
- Perfectly Cook Pasta Use slightly less water when boiling to concentrate starch, helping dressing cling better to pasta surfaces.
- Vegetable Prep Trick Pat vegetables dry after chopping to prevent watery salad and maintain crisp texture.
- Dietary Flexibility Swap salami with grilled tofu or chickpeas for vegetarian version, keeping protein levels balanced.
- Make-Ahead Magic Prepare salad one day ahead for deeper, more developed flavor profile, allowing seasonings to fully infuse ingredients.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Appetizer, Snacks
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 450mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 10g
- Cholesterol: 20mg