Let’s speak pasta salad. I do know we’ve finished a couple of variations through the years collectively, however this one has been a go-to lately. It’s a Mediterranean pasta salad. Ish. And it fires on an engines. It’s flavor-packed, nutritious, and the leftovers are legit superb. You begin with a base of fine pasta. Past that, there’s a blast of inexperienced from contemporary herbs, flecks of briny olives, and pops of tomato goodness. The creamy, tzatziki-inspired yogurt dressing is punctuated with garlic, grated cucumber and herbs and coats the pasta superbly. The entire thing is a shade excessive, admittedly a bit maximalist, nevertheless it’s a favourite feel-good lunch round right here. 
A couple of extra particulars. This Med-centric pasta salad is loaded with fast marinated cubes of tofu vamping for extra typical feta cubes. Document scratch, I do know. If this hurts your sensibility, no downside. Use feta. Or do a mix. I discover utilizing the tofu retains me going all through the afternoon, and the yogurt brings loads of creaminess instead of a tender, salty cheese like feta. Lastly, this recipe makes plenty of pasta salad so it’s the right form of recipe for Sunday meal prep.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad: The Fundamental Elements
- Pasta: Use no matter your favourite quick pasta you want right here. I like the Sfoglini Complete Grain Reginetti for pasta salads like this — it’s what you see pictured above. The feel and taste is nice and also you get a superb bump of protein and fiber over a white pasta. Penne, rigatoni, and farfalle are alternate pasta form that work nice right here.
- Cucumber: This recipe calls for 2. You grate one and stir it right into a tzatziki impressed, garlic-boosted yogurt sauce. The opposite is chopped into tiny cubes and tossed into an enormous bowl with the pasta and the opposite substances.
- Olives: Use dry, oil-cured black olives if in case you have them, however don’t sweat it if you happen to don’t. I’ve finished this pasta salad with a variety of olives prior to now, some are higher than others, however you’re going to get that briny, salty punctuation no matter olives you select. Huge, meaty inexperienced Castelvetrano olives are one other favourite, however a canned black olive can do the job as properly.
- Yogurt: So long as it’s plain, use what you’ve received in your fridge. Greek yogurt will make your sauce fairly a bit thicker, however all the pieces is getting properly tossed collectively, all of it works itself out. And low-fat yogurt can also be superb if that’s what you retain available. Good distance of claiming, don’t make a particular journey to the shop to get an alternate yogurt if you have already got some. The spirit of this entire recipe is adaptability.
- Tomatoes or Different Seasonal Greens: If tomatoes are in season, use cherry tomatoes right here. Bonus factors if you happen to make them roasted cherry tomatoes. For instance, if it’s spring, swap in one thing equally colourful and seasonally particular – cooked favas, blanched asparagus, and or spring peas.
- Herbs: The yogurt sauce requires dried herbs, and the pasta salad requires contemporary. The extra the higher so far as I’m involved. I usually season the yogurt with a superb quantity of za’atar, however you might need dried thyme or dill and like to make use of that. Ending the pasta salad with a pile or contemporary arugula, basil leaves, or cilantro are all good choices.
- Tofu or Feta: Making this with cubed tofu instead of feta will possible draw some sneers, however truthfully, it’s not a nasty strategy to roll. I just like the added protein increase.
Leftovers!
The leftovers listed below are nice. Particularly the day after, and the day after that. Day three and the pasta texture adjustments and loses some construction. By day three, I’m a move. Earlier than that, the pasta holds up, the herbs and onions infuse the creamy dressing and cucumbers. It’s on par with a superb day-old macaroni salad, however loaded with good things like tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs and olives. 
Extra One-Bowl Pastas & Pasta Salads
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