A holiday weekend is approaching! Here’s a quick and easy dinner for the weekend, or anytime. It is based on an antipasto platter which usually contains cold cuts, olives, cheese, assorted pickles and vegetables. With these ingredients in mind, I created a quick and easy pasta salad. You can use other deli meats and vegetables that you like. Use this recipe as a guide for quantities. The salad can be prepared the day before. Refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.
Useful tips
• Look for reduced-sodium ham and smoked turkey breast at the deli counter.
• You can use any type of short pasta such as bow ties or penne.
Countdown
• Put water for the pasta to boil.
• Prepare all the ingredients.
• Boil the pasta.
• Assemble the salad.
Shopping list
To buy: 1 container corkscrew pasta, 1 bottle balsamic vinegar, 1/4 pound sliced lean deli ham, 1/4 pound sliced reduced-sodium smoked turkey breast, 1 small container olives pitted black peppers, 1 can/jar of roasted red peppers, 1 jar of pepperoncini, 1 piece of parmesan, 1 tomato and 1 bunch of fresh basil.
Based: olive oil, salt and black pepper.
Antipasto Pasta Salad
INGREDIENTS
1/4 pound corkscrew pasta (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound sliced lean deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1/4 pound sliced low-sodium smoked turkey breast, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1/4 cup pitted black olives, about 6
1 cup canned or jarred roasted red peppers
1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini
1 tomato, cubed (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tablespoons of fresh basil leaves
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large saucepan three-quarters full of water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil for 8 minutes. Scoop 2 tablespoons of the pasta water into a large bowl. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mix well. Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add ham, smoked turkey breast, olives, roasted peppers, pepperoncini and tomatoes. Mix all ingredients together. Divide in half and place on two dinner plates. Sprinkle parmesan and basil on top.
Makes 2 servings.
Per serving: 538 calories (31% fat), 18.4 g fat (4.3 g saturated, 7.9 g monounsaturated), 51 mg cholesterol, 35.8 g protein, 55.1 g of carbohydrates, 5.4 g of fiber, 889 mg of sodium.
Linda Gassenheimer is the author of more than 30 cookbooks, including her most recent, “The 12-Week Diabetes Cookbook.” Listen to Linda on wdna.org and all major podcast sites. Email her at [email protected]. Provided by Tribune News Service.
