We’re into the full swing of summertime and cookout season, and I couldn’t be happier. I had my own little cookout not so long ago and I was looking for a unique pasta salad to serve. Frankly, I was sick and tired of the usual mayonnaise-y, mostly flavorless pasta salad. Not that I’m some sort of weird mayophobic like Deb, but I do like to change it up. So, I scoured the internet looking for delicious pasta salad recipes, and let me tell you — I found one!
Epicurious’s whole wheat pasta salad with grilled zucchini and olives is a total winner. Seriously, it might be my favorite pasta salad ever. I was a little suspicious at first, mostly because of the whole wheat pasta, but it worked well in the salad. If you really hate whole wheat pasta, though, just use regular, I won’t tell anyone. It’s not the quickest pasta salad to whip together, mostly because you have to grill all the slices of zucchini. It’s certainly not difficult, there are just a lot of steps.
The results are worth the work, though. The blend of flavors really works well. There is a distinctive Greek flair to the salad, with lots of garlic, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and a red wine vinegar based dressing. If I were to do anything different next time, I think I would add a little bit more feta cheese (I love feta cheese), and some more of the zucchini. I cut the zucchini a bit thinner than the recipe called for (because I really wanted to use my mandoline), and I think it got lost a little bit in the salad. It is advertised as a “grilled zucchini” salad, after all. I wanted that grilled veggie flavor in every bite.
Rest assured, if you follow this recipe to the letter, you are not going to be disappointed. The dressing is light, but flavorful and chock full of garlic and basil. The olives and feta add a nice salty bite to the side dish, and the onions and tomatoes pile on an additional level of flavor. There’s a lot going on in the salad, and it will definitely spice up any cookout. Next time you’re looking to feed a crowd, leave the boring pasta salad at home and try this one.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jun 09, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
