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Italian Pasta Salad

A delicious side dish to practically every meal. A wonderful addition in the summertime.
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Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb fusilli or rotini pasta I use tri-colored
  • extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1½ cups mini fresh mozzarella cheese balls
  • 1 medium red bell pepper diced
  • ½ English cucumber diced
  • 1 cup red onion thinly sliced
  • 1 cup salami diced
  • ½ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • `1 cup basil leaves chopped
  • ½ lemon juiced
  • 1 ½ tsps sea salt
  • Italian dressing make your own, or use your favorite store-bought dressing

Method
 

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions, cooking until slightly al dente.  Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent from sticking.  Set aside to cool to room temperature. 
  2. Transfer the cooled pasta to a large bowl and add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, red pepper, cucumber, red onion, salami, parsley, and basil.  Toss to combine, then add the dressing, salt, and several grinds of pepper, lemon (if using) and toss again. 
  3. Serve.

Notes

For the salami: I like to use a thicker cut salami such as the one’s still in the casing. 
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