Pasta Salad
 
With all the grilling going on and parties are you tired of the same old side pasta salads?  How about the ones with mayo?  You have to be so careful with those because the heat will make your salad “deadly”.  In other words, you have to keep it really cold when outdoors.  This pasta salad is made with yogurt.  I absolutely love it.  I hope you do to.  Oh I forgot, it is so simple to make.  My granddaughter Samantha helped me make it in no time.  This is what you have to do first.
 
Cook your pasta so that it has time to cool.  Be sure and salt the water. Cooking the Day before would be great.  All you have to do is put it in a ziploc baggie until you need it.  
 
Start with making the following:
Yogurt Herb Sauce:
1 cup of spinach (raw)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves (flat leaf type)
3 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves (no dried stuff)
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
 
FOR THE PASTA:
2 1/2 cups dry penne pasta or rotini or combination
1 cup roasted red bell pepper, cut into strips Or you can use the ones in a jar
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved or regular black olives or whichever ones you love.
 
For the sauce, combine, spinach, yogurt, feta, herbs, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper in a food processor.  Puree and drizzle in oil.  Process until smooth. Mix in pasta until entirely covered with sauce.   Goes great with grilled chicken or?
 
For every 1 cup:  358 calories; 17.8g fat; 499mg sodium; 3g fiber. EXCHANGES:  1/2 lean meats, 2 starches, 1/2 vegetable, 3 fats.  I sprinkled feta on the top (1 tablespoon) and reduced the total amount of feta in the sauce by 1 tbsp. Or you can use it all in the sauce.   Or you could have only 1/2 cup as a side dish!!!
 
TIP:  To keep leftover feta from spoiling too quickly, make a brine by dissolving about 2 teaspoons of salt in a cup of water in a sealable container.  Submerge the cheese in the water (it has to be completely covered) seal and refrigerate.  It will keep up to three weeks. If you need more liquid, make more brine.
 
 
Pasta Salad
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Blacken bell peppers in broiler. When done put in plastic bag for 15 minutes.  
Samantha Peeling peppers
You can chop the peppers or make strips. A chef in the making??
Sauce ingredients in food processor
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