Antipasto Pasta Salad

A "Fully Loaded" Pasta Salad

This is a fantastic pasta salad with so many great flavors. It's a great side dish to take to a family gathering, a picnic or a neighborhood get-together. My family loves this pasta salad and it can be changed in many ways. If you don't want the salami or pepperoni in it, then omit it and add more veggies. You can change up your vegetables and cheese. That's what makes it such a great pasta salad. Add what you like. I used rotini pasta instead of seashell and cubed mozzarella cheese instead of Asiago. I had my deli cut about six thick slices of salami and just cut those into pieces. I think grape or cherry tomatoes are the best ones to use in this salad. The balsamic dressing is excellent as well. Adjust to your taste. I usually add a little more balsamic vinegar. I hope this pasta salad makes an appearance at some of your summer gatherings!

Antipasto Pasta Salad

Recipe by Danya on Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
1 pound seashell pasta
1/4 pound Genoa salami, chopped
1/4 pound pepperoni sausage, chopped
1/2 pound Asiago cheese, diced
1 (6 ounce) can black olives, drained and chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, and cool under cold water.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, salami, pepperoni, Asiago cheese, black olives, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and tomatoes. Stir in the envelope of dressing mix. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad, and mix well.

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: This is great to make the night before. You can put some dressing on it but save some to "re-dress" in the morning. Also, if you make it the night before, hold off on the tomatoes. Add those the next day so they won't get too soggy.

Enjoy!