When I go to a picnic, I am SO tired of the same ol’ pasta salad. So I decided to take it up a notch with my Mediterranean pasta salad. You can use any shaped pasta you prefer and if you use whole-grain pasta, you will add more fiber to this dish.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz. pasta, (bow tie, orzo, corkscrew etc.)
1 cup red onion, diced small
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 small container of grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup of kalamata or black olives, pitted and sliced in quarters
1/2 cup Cilantro or basil, chopped finely

Dressing ingredients:

2/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
1 clove of garlic, finely diced (optional)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Preparation of pasta:

Cook the pasta al dente. Rinse when it is done and let cool before adding the vegetables and dressing.

Preparation of dressing:

Put everything except the olive oil in a bowl or a jar. If using a bowl, combine the other ingredients and slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture while whisking until creamy. If using a jar, add all other ingredients first, shake to combine. Then add olive oil, and shake vigorously until well mixed. When dressing is ready, add vegetables to pasta and gently stir in dressing. Garnish with cilantro or basil.