Greek Pasta Salad

Is it seriously the 4th of July in one week?

I'm not sure where summer is going, but I'll tell you one thing - I'm pretty bummed that July 4th is on a Wednesday.

This is not my freshman year of college, people.  I do not want to party in the middle of the week.  

Best-case scenario is when you get a three-day weekend with the holiday.  Second best would be at least a Tuesday or a Thursday, so you can take an extra day off and have a four-day weekend if you choose.

But a Wednesday?

Ugh.  What am I supposed to do with that?

Picnic & eat pasta salad?

Maybe... watch some fireworks?  And then it's basically BED TIME.  

Jeez.  It's difficult to properly celebrate America's independence when I have to get up the next day at 6AM.

But if the highlight of my holiday ends up being pasta salad, this is a good one to choose.

The homemade dressing is awesome, and with this recipe's method it doesn't all end up getting sucked into the pasta.  I also happen to love roasted red peppers, feta, and kalamata olives, so for me this is a no-brainer.  I bet diced cucumber would be great in this too.

Greek Pasta Salad

Dressing

• 6 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 T. red wine vinegar
• 3 T. fresh lemon juice
• 1 large shallot clove, minced
• 1 T. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 t. garlic powder
• 1/4 t. ground black pepper

Salad  

• Salt
• 1 pound farfalle (bowtie) pasta
• 1 C. jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
• 8 ounces crumbled feta cheese (about 2 cups)
• 1 C. pitted kalamata olives (about 6 ounces), chopped coarse
• 1/2 C. minced fresh parsley leaves

For the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl; set aside.

For the salad, bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta, and cook until completely tender. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta in a colander. Transfer the hot pasta to a large bowl.

Stir the reserved pasta water into the dressing. Pour half of the dressing over the pasta and toss to coat. Stir in the roasted red pepper, feta, olives, and parsley.

To store, cover the pasta salad tightly with plastic wrap and poke several vent holes. Transfer the remaining dressing to an airtight container. Refrigerate the pasta salad and reserved dressing separately for up to 2 days.

To serve, shake the reserved dressing to recombine, then pour half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Add the remaining dressing as needed to keep the salad moist.  Add more salt to taste, if necessary.

Recipe Adapted from Cooks' Illustrated