Artichoke Pasta Salad and Classic Greek Salad
We made this the other night, and it was fantastic. The pasta salad is enough to feed at least four hungry people. It might be even more delicious with the addition of oil-soaked sundried tomatoes.
Ingredients
7 Tbsp olive oil, more or less
1 red pepper, quartered, seeded and thinly sliced
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp sherry vinegar
1 box penne
2 6 oz. jars marinated artichokes, drained and chopped
5 oz. cooked broccoli, chopped (the frozen kind worked great)
25 or so salt-cured black olives, stoned and chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and fresh ground pepper
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a nonstick pan. Add the red pepper and onion (and fresh garlic, if desired) and cook over low to medium heat until soft, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the thyme, 1/4 tsp of the salt and the vinegar. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds, then set aside. Cook the pasta until al dente. After draining and rinsing, transfer to a large bowl. Add 2 Tbsp of the oil and toss well. Add the artichokes, broccoli, olives, parsley and onion mixture. Add remaining oil, if desired (We didn't, we found it oily enough). Leave to stand for at least 1 hour before serving or chill overnight. Just before eating it, we added some grated parmesan cheese.
Greek Salad
1 head romaine lettuce, torn
1/2 cucumber, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
8 spring onions, sliced (We used chopped red onion instead)
1/3 cup cured black olives
4 oz. feta cheese
Toss ingredients together. Add dressing, if desired.
Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
6 Tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Whisk together in a small bowl. (We found this to be way too much dressing, and we saved some for another night's salad.)
Those are some beautiful salads! Looks great for summertime suppers.