I have made a lot of pasta salads. Quite a lot. Finally I have found my favourite for my summer rotation.
It is the dressing, punchy little herb vinaigrette situation WHISKED together in about 2 mins that tastes like it has been in the bowl all afternoon – tangy, garlicky tad kick from the red pepper flakes just coating every twist of rotini.
Tossed with salami, morella pearls, cherry tomatoes, olives, pepperoncinis etc, make it on the morning leave to marinade and by dinner time it is been all too friendly. Now going to start taking this with me to parties.
Why Rinse the Pasta in Cold Water?
Rinsing pasta with cold water will IMMEDIATELY stop the cooking process. No one wants squishy overcooked pasta when mixing it with other cold ingredients. Al dente is where we want to be and flushing the noodles with cold water will lock those bad boys into that perfect al dente bite.
How This Pasta Salad Comes Together
I’m just saying, this Italian pasta salad is the zesty, salty POTLUCK HERO of your dreams.
In a medium bowl, mix together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Next, add the dried parsley, onion, basil, oregano, garlic salt, sugar, pepper, mustard powder, and red pepper flakes.
Whisk until everything is well blended and the sugar has melted.
Put aside.
After cooking the rotini in boiling salted water until they are al dente, drain and rinse with cold water for a minute or so to halt the cooking process.
Make sure to drain it thoroughly.
Measure out the mozzarella, pepperoncini slices, garlic cloves, carefully chop the red onion, quarter the salami pieces, cut the cherry tomatoes in half, and chop the parsley while the pasta cooks.
In a big bowl, evenly coat the cooled pasta with half of the vinaigrette.
Next, gently toss in the salami, mozzarella, garlic, red onion, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncinis, parsley, and remaining dressing until everything is nicely dressed.
Gently mix in some freshly grated parmesan cheese to finish.
To allow all those flavors to mingle, transfer to a serving or storage bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour. Babeee, done and done.
Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
Combine salad ingredients & whisk dressing together, keep THREE DAYS ahead in jars.
Combine salad with HALF of dressing & mix remaining in before serving cold to avoid sogginess (up to FOUR DAYS ahead in tupperware in fridge, noodles absorb the dressing overnight so add olive oil & parmesan before serving again).
DO NOT FREEZE or veg/cheese will go rubbery and not satisfying.
Easy Ingredient Swaps to Try
Swap Away! You have got lots of options:
- PASTA Use fusilli, penne, orecchiette or farfalle if you prefer. Gluten-Free pasta also works.
- SALAMI Try soppressata or pepperoni! You can also use other salamis such as those made from turkey.
- MOZZARELLA If you have it, provolone or even fresh bocconcini are good substitutes!
- OLIVES Try Castelvetrano olives or regular green olives instead. Delicious!
- PEPERONCINIS Replace these with sliced banana peppers or pickled jalapeños.
- VINEGAR Use white wine vinegar or champagne if you do not have red.
- GARLIC SALT No garlic salt? No problem! Use approximately one teaspoon of regular garlic powder plus half a teaspoon of salt.
Need to swap parmesan? Use Grana Padano or pecorino romano. They both taste a tad saltier than parmesan though, so add a little sparingly at first.
You May Also Like
- Mouthwatering Greek Pasta Salad With Lemon Dressing
- Classic Antipasto Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Mouthwatering Bow Tie Pasta Salad
- Tangy Mediterranean Orzo Salad With Feta
- Basil Summer Artichoke Pasta Salad
- Easy Meal Prep Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 lb rotini pasta
- 8 oz mozzarella pearls or 1/2-inch cubes
- 8 oz genoa salami, thickly sliced and quartered
- 6 oz sliced black or kalamata olives
- 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup sliced pepperoncinis
For the dressing:
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp dried onion
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- To make the dressing: in a medium bowl whisk together the extra virgin olive oil red wine vinegar and the fresh lemon juice then add the dried parsley dried onion dried basil dried oregano garlic salt granulated sugar freshly cracked black pepper dry mustard powder and the crushed red pepper flakes and whisk together until well combined and the sugar has melted. Set aside.
- Cook the rotini following packet directions until aldente in salted boiling water then drain into alight colander and whilst mixing to break it up slightly rinse thoroughly with plenty of cold water (about 1 minute) until it is completely cooled and has ceased cooking allowing to then drain well until needed.
- While pasta is boiling begin to prep all your solid ingredients: quarter your genoa salami slices in half each cherry tomato and finely dice the red onion and chop the fresh flat-leaf parsley and measure out the mozzarella sliced cloves and pepperoncinis then set aside until later.
- Add cooled down pasta to a large bowl and pour half amount of your vinaigrette dressing (from 1) into it and then toss well to ensure dressing is evenly distributed.
- Now add in the salami, mozzarella, cloves, red onion, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncinis and parsley and the other half amount of dressing to mixed pasta and toss once again but gently well until well dressed finishing by sprinkling over the freshly grated parmesan cheese folding in gently.
- Transfer into a serving or storing bowl and allow to chill for a minimum one hour in the fridge before serving so all the flavours have time to marry together.
Our family absolutely loved this recipe! I printed it and added it to our families go-to rotation recipe binder. I love finding killer recipes so thank you!