Rotini Pasta Salad with mixed greens, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, and kalamata olives! One bite of this healthy salad will transport you straight to the Mediterranean!
Just because summer is almost on its way out, doesn’t mean that we have to start filling our bellies with comfort foods and pumpkins. We can still enjoy salads all year round.
Adding healthy fresh greens vegetables such as kale, spinach, and watercress can make it particularly nutritious. The good thing about the holidays coming down on us at speed is that there’s always a party to go to.
And parties usually always need food. Pasta salads are always an awesome choice because for one they taste amazing, they travel well and they’re always the first thing to go at the table.
October is National Pasta Month or as Dreamfields like to call it, National Healthy Pasta Month. And to celebrate you can find a different pasta recipe for every day of the month! Each week will follow a theme, the first being Go Green followed by Spice of Life, Marinara-thon and Fall-ing in love. With all this choice there has to be a recipe that’s going to make your dinner choice so much easier in October!
As well as the abundance of turnip cooked greens in this rotini pasta, there’s also roasted sweet cherry tomatoes, black olives, and crumbled cheese. Salad gets better with creamy Mediterranean dressing of red wine vinegar and basil.
I used Dreamfields Rotini Pasta for this creation. Rotini is the spiral pasta and one of my kids favorites! Dreamfields Pasta contains Durum wheat, which has a higher fiber content and lower carbohydrate content. Therefore, not only are you getting great nutrition from the perfect cook greens, but the pasta is also lighter. It’s a total win-win. You can also add a dip of your choice like yellow mustard or honey lime vinaigrette. Ang top a slices of hard boiled egg.
Just to sweeten the deal and make National Pasta Month even more fun. Dreamfields will reward one lucky reader with a case of pasta just for answering a simple question. Leave me a comment below about your favorite type of pasta. And don’t forget to visit the list of daily recipes over at Dreamfields for more inspiration!
This post was sponsored by Dreamfields Pasta. All text and opinions are always my own!
Mixed Greens Rotini Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 box Dreamfields Rotini Pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 container of cherry tomatoes 10oz
- 1 pieces bunch of green kale chopped into small
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 bunch spinach
- 1 leaves bunch watercress only
- 1/2 cup chopped and pitted kalamata olives
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- Salt and cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Seasoning Salt and red pepper flakes to taste
- 2 cloves garlic peeled or garlic powder
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the pasta as per the directions on the box, drain and cool.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the cherry tomatoes.
- Cook the tomatoes over a medium heat until the skins begin to slightly blister.
- Transfer to a plate to cool.
- In the same pan, add the water and kale, cover and steam for 2-3 minutes.
- Drain and cool.
- Transfer the drained pasta to a large bowl.
- Add the sweet cherry tomatoes, kale, spinach, watercress and olives.
- In a blender, combine the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt and red pepper, garlic, basil and oregano.
- Blend on high and gradually add the olive oil in a steady stream until emulsified.
- Add the dressing to the pasta and toss well to coat.
- Add the feta cheese and add more salt and pepper if desired.
- Serve at once or store in the fridge until ready to use.
Once again, you managed to make just what I’m craving! With a few more mild October weeks ahead, this salad is a must for my lunch rotation!
I’ve always enjoyed pasta, my very favorite is Linguini topped with Chicken Cacciatore
My favorite pasta is the Angel Hair, although I truly love all of Dreamfields varieties!
I hope I’m not too late!? My favorite kind is ravioli!!