Entertaining
stars & stripes.italian pasta salad
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If you’re still searching for recipe ideas for your 4th of July get together, I’ve got you covered! I recently made this Italian pasta salad for a picnic with friends before a Hollywood Bowl concert and not a noodle was left in sight. The dish is simple, yet packed with flavor and texture. I will be making this again for my parent’s 4th of July party – per my mother’s request!
from Caroline’s kitchen
italian pasta salad
- prep
- 20m
- total
- 50m
- serves
ingredients
- For the pasta salad:
- 1 lb. (1 box) farfalle
- 1 jar (8 oz.) whole milk fresh mozzarella balls, quartered
- ¼ cup (or less) deli-sliced golden Greek pepperoncini, drained
- 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
- ¼ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ¼ cup (or more) gourmet pepperoni, sliced into strips
- ¼ cup (or more) calabrese salami, sliced into strips
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- For the dressing:
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp. dried parsley, plus additional for garnish (can also use fresh parsley for garnish)
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp. white sugar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, then add farfalle and cook according to package instructions. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander and let cool. Drizzle pasta with 1-2 tbsp. olive oil and gently toss, to avoid pasta sticking together.
- Once the oven is preheated, place the bell peppers on the foil-lined cookie sheet and roast in the oven until blackened and skin begins to peel, roughly 15-20 minutes, rotating the peppers a couple times during the process.
- Remove peppers from oven and transfer to a glass bowl. Top bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and sweat peppers about 10 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and let the peppers cool slightly; remove the skin from the bell peppers. Next, remove the stem and seeds and dice the roasted bell peppers into medium chunks.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.
- Transfer the cooled farfalle to a large bowl, then add mozzarella, pepperoncini, roasted bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, sliced pepperoni and sliced salami. Add the dressing to the mixture and toss gently with a spatula. Once dressing is fully incorporated and pasta is coated, transfer to an air-tight container and place in the refrigerator to chill until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, place chilled pasta salad in a serving dish and garnish with additional dried or fresh parsley.
