Another summertime treat that I’ve made for years! It’s one of the few dishes I know where the leftovers are better the next day, making it the perfect dish to take for lunch.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups fusilli pasta, cook pasta and set aside
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- ½ cup grape tomatoes, quartered
- 1 bell pepper (red or orange)
- ½ cup Trader Joe’s pitted kalamata olives with extra virgin olive oil, chopped
- 6oz. container Odyssey Mediterranean Herb Feta Cheese, crumbled
- ⅓ cup red onion, diced
- 2 tbsps. of fresh parsley, chopped
- 6 – 8 roasted Trader Joe’s garlic cloves (optional)
DRESSING
- ¼ cup Trader Joe’s red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tsp. oregano
- Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- Mason jar (for mixing)
DIRECTIONS
Roast garlic in the oven (see directions below). Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat and cook the pasta for 8 – 10 minutes or until tender but firm. Drain pasta and set aside. Add dressing ingredients into a mason jar and shake well, then set aside. Add cucumber, grape tomatoes, pepper, kalamata olives, feta cheese, red onion, parsley and roasted garlic cloves to a large bowl. Then, add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
DIRECTIONS – Roasted Garlic
Tear off a small sheet of foil. Set the peeled garlic onto the foil, then pour a tablespoon of olive oil on top of the cloves. Add fresh salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Wrap it in the foil and set it on a cookie sheet and either roast or bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes at 350°.
After baking, let it rest awhile before unwrapping. The garlic should be like butter; you should be able to smash it with the back of your cutting knife. Chop it up into fine pieces and add to salad.
