Greek Pasta Salad

Another bloggerie imported from "The Other Side of My Life".

The recipe below is based on a recipe "Greek Appetizer Salad" from My All Time Favorite Cookbook, "Betty Crocker's International Cookbook" by General Mills. I bought mine in 1978 when I was a newlywed. The marriage did not last, but we are still friends, and I still have the cookbook! As you can see , the poor old thing is pretty used.

The recipes are still readable and I still use it.

The appetizer salad is basically vegetables, feta cheese, and olives marinated in an olive oil & lemon juice dressing. I tried it, and loved it. Then, I wondered what it would be like with pasta...

So for my recipe "Greek Pasta Salad" I doubled the amounts for the dressing, added pasta, and used calamata olives instead of the generic black olives given in the original recipe. And, oh yeah, I added broccoli, too.

Greek Pasta Salad

1. Make Dressing by mixing the following ingredients in shaker, or jar. Put on lid and shake well. Set aside.

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar

2. Cook about 1 pound pasta, following package instructions.

3. While pasta is cooking, steam 1 cup (or more) of each of the following:

cauliflower, separated into flowerlets
broccoli, cut into flowerlets, with some chopped stem if you like


wait a few minutes before adding about a cup:

green beans, cut into 1 inch segments (frozen works as well)


wait a few more minutes and add:

1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise into quarters, then sliced in about 1/2 inch slices

When vegetables are tender, remove from heat, and pour off water. Set aside.

4. Drain pasta, and place in very large mixing bowl. Add:

1 medium tomato, chopped
1 small to medium red onion, quartered and then sliced
1 - 2 blocks of feta cheese
8 - 16 ounces of calamata olives
dressing


Mix well. I like to eat some while it is still warm, but it can also be chilled before eating. We love this pasta salad at my house, and leftovers disappear fast! Add some crusty bread and you have a wonderful meal for those hot summer evenings!