Mediterranean Pasta Salad

As we gear up for the spring and summer we always seem to be on the hunt for those light dishes or meals… Well, this Mediterranean Pasta Salad is light but so delicious. It is easy to put together and makes for a great side dish for all of your spring/summer get-togethers. You can serve this room temp or cold for your BBQ or your picnic.

Let me show you what you will need:

INGREDIENTS:

Salt and pepper – to taste
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 onion – sliced thin
8 oz small shaped pasta – of choice
1/2 c. bell pepper – diced
1/2 c. chickpeas – drained and rinsed
1/2 c. cucumber – diced and seeded
1/2 c. feta cheese – crumbles
1/4 c. parsley – chopped or torn
1 large tomato – diced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a bit of salt and then add the pasta. Stir and cook until the pasta is done to your liking. Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine the olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper and whisk until well combined.
3. To the dressing add the pasta, bell pepper, chickpeas, cucumber, parsley, feta, tomato, and onion. Toss to combine well. Add more seasoning if needed. You can also top the top of the pasta with more parsley and feta if you want to. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

• This pasta dish is on the lighter side so I like to “bulk” it up. I grill either turkey or chicken for added flavor and serve this as a side dish OR I add the chicken to the pasta and serve it as a main dish. If you want to keep it on the “no meat” side of things you can always add in more chickpeas or a “meat substitution” of choice.
• I like to soak the raw onion in water to remove some of that “raw onion” flavor. Soaking it in water makes it a little bit more palatable in a dish where raw onion is added. This is just something that I was taught to do but certainly not an obligation.
• You can double this recipe to fit a bigger family if need be. It is so easy to do so.
• Check out my channel if you want to see how I make this. https://www.youtube.com/c/thesouthernrustic here you can find visuals of all of my recipes if you need help. There are timestamps so you can easily find what you are looking for.