Greek Salad
Greek Pasta Salad is the perfect make-ahead side dish that's best served cold. It can be prepped ahead and is always a hit!
Greek Pasta Salad is the perfect make-ahead side dish that's best served cold. It can be prepped ahead and is always a hit!
- Carbohydrate 5.68875000064828 g
- Cholesterol 16.6875000141068 mg
- Fat 4.18452500337295 g
- Fiber 1.04675002664328 g
- Protein 3.64520000225233 g
- Saturated Fat 2.84586250236899 g
- Serving Size 1 1 people (150g)
- Sodium 213.54875017689 mg
- Sugar 4.641999974005 g
- Trans Fat 0.269497500177525 g
- Calories 71 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook the pasta according to package directions till al dente.
- Drain and rinse under cold water to avoid the pasta from sticking together.
- In a large serving bowl, combine all the ingredients and pour the dressing over them.
- Toss well.
- Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
English cucumbers drive this dish because their seedless interior and thin skin eliminate the need for peeling or seeding. Short pasta shapes like fusilli capture vinaigrette within their corkscrew grooves, preventing pools of dressing at the bottom of the bowl. Rinsing cooked pasta under cold water drops the temperature instantly, halting starch gelatinization and stopping residual carryover cooking that ruins an al dente bite. Allowing the assembled mixture to rest in the refrigerator for two to three hours permits the salt in the dressing to draw moisture from the tomatoes and onions, creating a cohesive sauce.
Pairing Options
Heavy grilled proteins like lamb chops or skirt steak benefit from the sharp acidity of the vinaigrette and the cooling crunch of raw vegetables. Skewered chicken breast marinated in oregano and lemon juice provides a leaner contrast that matches the herbal notes in the dressing. Serve chilled dishes alongside hot items to create thermal contrast on the plate.
Culinary Background
Traditional horiatiki salad omits pasta entirely, relying on chunks of tomato, cucumber, onion, feta, and olives dressed strictly in olive oil and red wine vinegar. Pasta additions emerged in Mediterranean-American adaptation circles during the late twentieth century to transform a vegetable plate into a substantial side dish. Storing dressed pasta dishes beyond 48 hours results in structural breakdown of the cucumber cells, yielding excess water in the container.
