Minestrone Salad made it’s annual warm weather debut at our house this weekend. We had a fun family filled Saturday with different guests at all three meals. In an effort to have more time visiting I made food that was easy to prepare early in the day. Minestrone Salad is one of my two favorite main dish pasta salads.
I used salami for an antipasto version this time. The salami is great for a make ahead version and keeps well for the next day. When I have the time, marinated and grilled flank steak in place of the salami is a tasty variation.
This recipe makes a lot of salad which is either great for a crowd or for when you want a “no cooking” night. Either way, it’s my kinda meal…
Because the dressing is served on the side, it was fresh and fabulous the second night.
For lunch I served Orzo Shrimp Salad – it’s my number one “go to” during the warm months. My preference is to make it with shrimp, but I’vr found that roasted chicken works well when I’m serving it to people that may not like seafood.
This is a lot of salad for the two of us, I try to make it on a Saturday morning when I have a day full of appointments so it’s ready for dinner when I’m ready to drop. Day two – no work at all – yay for me…..
Ingredients
- 12oz farfalle - cooked according to package directions, drained and rinsed
- 2-14oz can of kidney beans, one light red and one white
- 4 carrots diced, blanched
- 10 oz fresh green beans, blanched
- 3 zucchini, diced
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 1 box cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 lb hard salami, cubed
- Dressing - 6oz plain Greek Yogurt mixed with 6oz jar of pesto
Instructions
- After cooking the pasta, set aside to cool - I drizzle a little olive oil over it to prevent sticking.
- Combine the pasta and veggies, and salami.
- Cover and refrigerate until time to serve.
- Serve over lettuce leaves.
- Drizzle with dressing.
- Enjoy!
Thanks for visiting!