Pasta Salad

BBQ season is in full swing and we all know that the meats are the star of the show, but having delicious side dishes is a must! This quick and easy pasta salad tastes great and can be prepared ahead of time.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Orzo Pasta
• 4 Mini Sweet Peppers, cubed
• 1/2 Red Onion, chopped
• 1 cup Pitted Green Olives, halved
• 2 Ears of Corn, raw and cut off the cob
• 12 oz. Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• Handful Parsley, stems removed and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
• 4 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Kalamata Olive Oil
• 4 Tbsp. Wine Vinegar
• Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

I recommend using a high quality olive oil for a better tasting pasta salad so I went with this Extra Virgin Kalamata Olive Oil. Also, when choosing a mustard, choose a Dijon Mustard for better flavor and pair it with a good wine vinegar. I used a Pinot Grigio wine vinegar.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the orzo and cook for one to two minutes less than the package instructions. Drain the pasta and rinse in cold water to cool off the pasta quickly. If preparing the pasta ahead of time, add a drizzle of olive oil to the pasta and mix so that they don’t stick together while cooling off.

Add all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix together. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Salute and cin cin!