Please excuse the plethora of “greek” recipes. Pretty much, it’s an excuse for me to use the near gallon of feta I bought at the grocery store. Also, of course…. I’m somewhere in Santorini right now, eating feta from the source – Greece!
Not only is this pasta salad light and fresh for the summer, it’s so low calorie and scrumptious, you won’t ever make regular pasta salad again. The crunchiness of the cucumber “spirals” complement the softness of the feta, while the red wine vinegar gives it the kick it needs. The sunflower seeds at the end (not so Greek) are a nice salty surprise.
As I’ve said before, you must pat dry the cucumber noodles once you’ve spiralized. Cucumbers are comprised of about 95% water and if you skip this step, your vinaigrette/dish will be watery. Put down a paper towel or two, lay down the cucumber noodles, place another layer of paper towels on top and press down lightly to absorb the moisture…. Don’t be lazy, it takes 45 seconds!
Refrigerate this bowl for at least 30 minutes to truly get the chilled pasta salad feel. Serve this at your next BBQ with a skewer of grilled shrimp and some crusty whole grain bread or really pretend you’re with me in the Greek islands and serve it with toasted pita! Heck, shove these in a pita pocket and pack it for lunch on Monday. We’re very versatile at Inspiralized, aren’t we?
Now you can watch a cooking video of this recipe:
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- 2 seedless English cucumbers Blade C, noodles trimmed
- 1/2 red onion peeled, Blade A, noodles trimmed
- 1 red bell pepper Blade A, noodles trimmed
- 1.5 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup packed baby spinach
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives halved
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta
- 1 15oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- In the bottom of a large mixing bowl, mix together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the remaining ingredients and toss thoroughly to combine. Serve.
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