This colorful, whole-grain pasta salad, chock-full of vegetables and fresh mozzarella cheese in an herb-garlic vinaigrette dressing, earns its name because of the way it holds up in a cooler pack, making it an ideal midday meal for toting to work or school.
Servings: 4 When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.
When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.
Tested size: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole-grain fusilli pasta
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 small clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
- 1 cup cooked, chilled, coarsely chopped broccoli
- 6 ounces fresh, part-skim mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4-to-1/2-inch dice
Directions
Cook the pasta al dente according to the directions on the package. Drain, then transfer it to a large bowl, toss with 1 teaspoon of the oil and allow it to cool completely.
Whisk together in a small bowl the remaining 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of olive oil, the vinegar, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and black pepper to form a dressing.
Add the bell pepper, tomatoes, broccoli, mozzarella and dressing to the pasta, and toss to combine.
Recipe Source
From nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger.
Tested by Kara Elder.
Email questions to the Food Section at food@washpost.com.
