Remember when I said I had a few more great summer dishes to share before the start of Fall? Well here’s one of them today! You might recall the buffalo chicken pasta salad I shared a few weeks back; a fabulous twist on a classic dish! After sharing that recipe, I knew I had to follow it up with the delicious classic pasta salad recipe that’s been in my family for years. Fresh vegetables have always been big in my family, mostly because my mother was always making something yummy with the veggies from her garden. One of her most popular summer dishes was always her garden veggie pasta salad, a classic dish with a blend of pasta, fresh vegetables, basil, and Italian spices….
Confetti Veggie Pasta Salad
Serves 8-10 as a side
INGREDIENTS
one pound of pasta ( I use a mix of wheat ziti and rotini)
two cups of colorful fresh vegetables (I use corn, red peppers, green peppers, grape tomatoes and red onion)
one cup of fresh basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp celery salt
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
METHOD
Cook the pasta according to instructions. Strain pasta, then run under cold water to keep cool, dry. Set pasta aside.
Prepare fresh basil by pulling the leaves off the stem, set leaves aside. Chop the vegetables into bite sized strips, set aside.
In a shaker, combine olive oil, garlic powder, garlic salt, celery salt, onion powder, parsley, oregano, thyme, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Shake up the mix for 10 seconds.
In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, fresh basil and vegetable, toss with dressing until pasta is nicely covered. Refrigerate for a couple hours before serving to allow the dressing to marinate. Add salt and pepper as needed before serving.
Enjoy!
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