I tease many of my native California friends for being cold-weather wimps. And I don’t feel bad. They are wimps! They wear winter coats and scarves when it’s 60 degrees outside while I’m in shorts and flip-flops. Wimps! But don’t worry, they get their revenge.
I am a warm-weather wimp. Yup, when the weather heats up, Tanya hides in her air-conditioned apartment. Anything above 80 degrees and I start to complain. Too hot! Too hot! The one good thing about hot summer days is that I crave lighter foods (generally), which is always kinder to my waistline.
Light, but still filling, salads are frequently on the menu during hot days. I particularly enjoy greek salads. They contain some of my favorite veggies including, tomatoes, artichokes and cucumbers. I also added some spinach to boost up it’s good-for-you quotient, then tossed in some cubed salami and salty feta cheese so it wasn’t too healthy. 🙂
This salad is very versatile, and you can easily swap in your favorite veggies. It is very portable for picnics and BBQs and keeps for several days in the fridge, which is great on busy days. I can just fill my plate and dinner is ready.
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) box of bow tie pasta
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 large cucumber, chopped
- 1 (14 ounce) can of artichoke hearts
- 1 bag of baby spinach
- 2 cups of diced salami
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Dressing Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile chop all the veggies, then combine tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, artichoke, spinach and salami in a large bowl. Add cooled pasta to bowl.
- Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour vinaigrette over salad, then add crumbled feta cheese and stir together. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.
Notes
You can substitute chicken breasts or garbanzo beans for the salami. And feel free to swap in your favorite meats and veggies. Chicken breast, garbanzo beans, red bell peppers and black olives would be great additions/substitutions.
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Tanya
That looks really refreshing. I admit the heat has been getting on my nerves too lately, but I don’t have air conditioning. 🙁 I was thinking the other day I’m kind of looking forward to our “winter” weather. In the meantime I guess I can always hang out in the library.
Oh man. I’m such a warm-weather wimp that I’m not sure how I would handle no air-conditioning. I’ve already been battling hot weather headaches (yes, I’m a baby). Thankfully, none have turned into migraines but I’ve also been guzzling Coca-Cola to prevent them. When I moved here I had two requirements: a parking garage and air conditioning. Thankfully, I found both. 🙂 Stay cool!
You are right, salads are on the menu when it gets hot, and this week and next week are hot here too.
Your salad looks amazing!! Love the pics too. Great job.
My husband loves this type of salad (without cold pasta). He likes to add big black olives too.
Stay cool Tanya!!
Yup, salads and smoothies have been on my menu lately. And errrr….maybe chocolate ice cream too. It was hot! I was cranky! And I certainly wouldn’t want good chocolate ice cream to go to waste. 🙂 I’m glad you like the pictures. It’s an area that I still think has lots of room for improvement. 🙂 But the salad is definitely tasty. Filling but not heavy. And with all the good veggies in there, I don’t even too guilty eating my small bowl of ice cream. LOL! I have a love/hate relationship with black olives, but I definitely think they would be tasty in this dish. Have a great weekend, my friend!