Side Dishes
Minestrone Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is a universal favorite at get-togethers, but this one is based on the hearty Tuscan soup minestrone. It’s packed full of a pipe-shaped pasta called pipette, crunchy summer veggies, and Parmesan cheese, then tossed with a zingy Italian vinaigrette. If you can’t find the pipette, use a medium shell pasta instead.
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD, COOK:
TOSS:
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE, WHISK:
Let this salad sit for at least one hour before serving it so all the flavors can marry, but the longer it sits, the more flavorful it becomes.
Instructions
For the salad, cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Add green beans in the last 5 minutes of cooking; drain and rinse with cold water.
Toss pasta and green beans with kidney beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, celery, fennel, and Parmesan in a large bowl.
For the vinaigrette, whisk together vinegar, oil, onion, garlic, Dijon, Italian seasoning, and pepper flakes; season with salt and black pepper.
Toss salad with vinaigrette; chill at least 1 hour.
Shredding onion on a box grater allows it to release more flavor into the vinaigrette and pasta salad.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per serving
Calories: 197
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 13mg 4%
Sodium 233mg 9%
Carbs 21g 7%
Fiber 4g 16%
Protein 10g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.