New Recipe #26: Greek pasta salad

A few weeks ago, I was trying to narrow down a recipe for this week’s Whip It Up theme of salads, and JG and I struck up a conversation on the way home from the gym about the definition of this particular course. See, I have a hard time with salads that consist of something like slices of grapefruit, slivered red onion, and balsamic vinegar. That’s it? That’s a salad? I know it’s trendy, but what is up with a wedge salad? I do not understand the appeal of a hard, nutrition-free quadrant of pale iceberg lettuce. Maybe a salad was simply a mixture of things, we posited. Ever the mathematician, JG proposed a casserole as a counterexample, and I suggested that a salad was maybe a cold mixture. What about a buffalo chicken salad? What distinguished a “dressing” from a “sauce”? And on and on it went. Ultimately, we did not come to a satisfactory definition, much to our collective chagrin, and I am still nettled by it. Terms that can mean anything to anyone do not sit well with me. I strive for precision of language! Where are my defined boundaries? When will the madness end?!

Okay, deep breath.

I mostly chose this recipe for a Greek pasta salad because this is a busy week in the evenings, and JG and I decided to use the “component” strategy, where we have lots of mix-and-match items in the fridge that can accommodate whatever meals we need. Also, I had never tried anything by Robin Miller. Her show is all about revamping leftovers, cooking in bulk in advance, and basically planning up the wazoo. Unsurprisingly, I love it. As an added bonus, I found out from the quarterly alumni newsletter that Robin is a fellow Blue Hen!

Method
Like any non-fussy pasta salad worth its salt, this recipe was easy to follow in terms of procedure. Chop, mix, toss, serve! Done! However, I did not manage to do this within the optimistic time estimate of 18 minutes. Where do they get that? It takes me 18 minutes to chop a bell pepper and mint leaves, dice chicken, and mince garlic! Maybe I am just the slow boat of food preparation, but I still think that estimate is ridiculous. Plus, I was lucky enough to have a resident spouse who was willing to cook the chicken ahead of time for me (phew), so I didn’t have to deal with that at all. That said, cooking the chicken while everything else is going on is definitely feasible, but it will add to the overall timeframe and the dirty dish quotient.

I made the following tweaks to this recipe:

• I used gemelli instead of ditalini.
• I had to use plain yellow mustard because we were out of Dijon, but it hadn’t been replaced yet.
• I added kalamata olives at the end because the idea of Greek food without olives was absurd to me.
• I cut back on the mint because recipe reviewers claimed that it tended to be overwhelming; I used about 3 tablespoons, chopped.

Taste
The salad chilled in the fridge while I waited for JG to come home from his first scrimmage with this year’s volleyball team, but once he got home, he was starving. I was a little concerned that this dinner would not be satisfying for him, but I resolutely stirred in feta cheese and olives, and dished up bowls of the rookie dinner. It was very tasty! The mixture of fresh mint and dried herbs was pleasing, and the dish was light, but still filling. The pasta twists soaked up all of the flavor from the dressing, even though there were moments of potent raw garlic. “This is so good,” JG said repeatedly, as he scraped his bowl and got up for more.

Repeat appearance
I wish I had tried this salad earlier! This recipe is a nice one to have on hand because it can be a simple side dish for a crowd, but it turns into its own meal with the chicken. It is a fairly blank canvas for adding other ingredients like artichoke hearts or roasted red peppers, but I like what I did this time, and I wouldn’t make any significant changes for us. I’m glad that I followed my instinct in toning down the mint because that flavor only grew stronger as the flavors melded in the fridge. JG has requested black olives for next time, but I’m sure I’ll get a few kalamata ones for me. Now, to hunt down more Robin Miller recipes to try!

Greek Pasta Salad with Feta and Chicken
Quick Fix Meals

• 12 ounces ditalini or other pasta
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 cups cooked cubed chicken (about 1 pound)
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together broth, oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Add diced chicken, green pepper, and mint.

3. Drain pasta and add to bowl with dressing and chicken. Toss to combine. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with feta cheese just before serving.