I just love salads that are full of wide ranges of vegetables. If they have a tasty and interesting dressing, that’s all the better. Both of these statements describe today’s salad. Overall, I think there are eight vegetables included, along with some pasta and a really great dijon mustard and maple syrup vinaigrette. I’ve become a true believer of sweet vinaigrettes because they can add an entirely new dimension to what they’re part of.
The Recipe
I’d say the base of this salad consists of pasta and chickpeas. On top of that, there’s bell pepper, onion, cucumber, feta cheese, kalamata olives and a few more things. And on top of that, there’s a really simple to prepare vinaigrette. This salad shouldn’t take any longer than 20 minutes to put together and there’s very little cooking involved. Just the pasta, but that’s easy.
This is a good salad. The pasta rounds out the vegetables and the vinaigrette brings everything together. It’s tasty, filling and enjoyable.
Ingredients
Serves: 4-6
For the Salad
8 Ounces Dry Spiral Pasta
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 15-Ounce Can Chickpeas, Rinsed
1 Red Bell Pepper, Diced
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, Diced
1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1 Large Cucumber, Diced
1 Cup Feta Cheese, Cumbled
1 Cup Kalamata Olives
1/2 Cup Red Onion, Chopped
1/4 Cup Parsley, Chopped
For the Dressing
1/3 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 Teaspoon Dry Oregano
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank Izzy from She Likes Food for this recipe. It’s well put together and I’m looking forward to similar recipes from Izzy in the future.
Cook the Pasta
Fill a large saucepan about half way with water. Then, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, stir and let cook for 10-12 minutes until tender. Follow the instructions on the box and when finished, strain and return the pasta to the pot. Add 2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil to it and stir well. Allow the pasta to cool (I obviously used elbow pasta).
Prep the Ingredients
Below, I’ll just show photos of the prepped ingredients. Since I took them, I figured I’ll show them. To start off with, I diced the cucumber and halved the tomatoes. For the tomatoes, there was a brown variety available, so I decided to experiment with those.
Next, I cleaned and chopped the red and yellow bell peppers.
Finally, I rinsed the chickpeas, cut up (crumbled) the feta cheese, measured out the olives, chopped up the onion and chopped the parsley.
Combine Ingredients
Add all the above salad ingredients to a large bowl and mix them together. Then, add a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper to the bowl.
Add the pasta to the bowl and mix that in as well.
Prepare the Vinaigrette
In a medium sized bowl, add the vinaigrette ingredients. This consists of the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, maple syrup, oregano, salt and pepper.
Whisk these ingredients well and then add the vinaigrette to the bowl with the pasta and vegetables in it. Mix everything together well.
Plate & Serve
Divide between plates or bowls and enjoy!
The Final Pasta Salad
There are quite a few ingredients that go into this salad, but nothing that’s generally unavailable or difficult to deal with. The vinaigrette is really good, so definitely give this salad a try. When you do, please let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
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