A non-traditional dinner-style pasta salad for those favoring a vinaigrette dressing. Keep some minty gum handy for afterwards!
Ingredients | Feta Pasta Salad
½ red onion, cut into bite-size pieces
4 cups ice water, or as needed
1 (8 ounce) package tri-color rotini pasta
1 (5 ounce) can light tuna in water, drained and flaked
2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
½ cup roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
¼ cup smoked sun-dried tomatoes
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 sprig parsley, stemmed and leaves minced
4 leaves fresh basil, rolled and very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons capers
1 cup Greek vinaigrette salad dressing
Directions
Soak red onion in a bowl of ice water in refrigerator to remove strong taste, at least 30 minutes. Drain and rinse.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain and rinse under cold water.
Mix onion, pasta, tuna, celery, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, parsley, basil, capers, and Greek dressing together in a large bowl. Allow to marinate in refrigerator, 4 hours to overnight.
The dressing really makes this pasta salad. Ideally it should be a bright, lemony dressing, preferably homemade though bottled plus some extra fresh-squeezed lemon juice would also work. I have served this as a side dish and also as a main dish, adding another can of tuna. This salad is good with limeade and lemonade. Baklava or lemon bars make a stellar dessert.
Info | Feta Pasta Salad
prep:
30 mins
cook:
10 mins
additional:
4 hrs 30 mins
total:
5 hrs 10 mins
Servings:
8
Yield:
8 servings
