Creamy Tuscan Pasta Salad
Whether it’s a holiday celebration or a simple family gathering, an easy to make pasta salad is always my favorite for feeding a crowd. This recipe combines the Tuscan flavors of three different salamis, provolone cheese and classic Italian white beans, with black olives, tomatoes, spinach, onion and egg noodles all tossed up with a creamy-style dressing.
My mom and I have our favorite place to go for lunch. At this point, there really isn’t much point in even looking at the menu, because our orders are always the same: French onion soup and pasta salad of the day. It doesn’t matter what pasta salad they’re serving as the special that day, we know it’s always going to be good and that my mom is always going to ask for extra dressing. It’s just what she does.
So when I was thinking about creating a recipe using Applegate Naturals® Genoa Salami Trio, I didn’t have to go very far out of my mom’s and my favorite food comfort zone and fork-twirl my pasta noodle in a simple Italian-style Tuscan pasta salad with a creamy dressing. And a little extra for my mom, of course.
It also has the festive colors of the season sporting red, green and white. Well actually, of any season given it transitions smoothly no matter which month it makes an appearance in.
Creamy Tuscan Pasta Salad
Ingredients
1 pound long egg noodle pasta
2 6-ounce packages Applegate Naturals® Genoa Salami Trio, sliced
2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 8-ounce can sliced black olives, drained
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach leaves
2 cups provolone cheese, diced (about 8 ounces)
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh basil or parsley, or both
For the Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano flakes
Instructions
My mom and I have our favorite place to go for lunch. At this point, there really isn’t much point in even looking at the menu, because our orders are always the same: French onion soup and pasta salad of the day. It doesn’t matter what pasta salad they’re serving as the special that day, we know it’s always going to be good and that my mom is always going to ask for extra dressing. It’s just what she does.
So when I was thinking about creating a recipe using Applegate Naturals® Genoa Salami Trio, I didn’t have to go very far out of my mom’s and my favorite food comfort zone and fork-twirl my pasta noodle in a simple Italian-style Tuscan pasta salad with a creamy dressing. And a little extra for my mom, of course.
It also has the festive colors of the season sporting red, green and white. Well actually, of any season given it transitions smoothly no matter which month it makes an appearance in.
Creamy Tuscan Pasta Salad
Ingredients
1 pound long egg noodle pasta
2 6-ounce packages Applegate Naturals® Genoa Salami Trio, sliced
2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 8-ounce can sliced black olives, drained
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach leaves
2 cups provolone cheese, diced (about 8 ounces)
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh basil or parsley, or both
For the Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano flakes
Instructions
- Cook the egg noodles in salted water according to the package directions, drain, and rinse with cool water. Add the pasta to a large mixing bowl with the sliced salami, white beans, tomatoes, black olives, spinach, cheese, onion, and basil or parsley.