Recipe: Greek Pasta Salad

This recipe was in the Eating Well Magazine of July/August 2012 and can be found at the following link: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/Greek_pasta_salad.html

I highly recommend making this the day before and refrigerating. The flavours meld wonderfully overnight and it makes an incredibly light summer meal.  For the heartier appetite of my husband, I broiled a chicken breast that I marinated in Greek dressing overnight. and served it along side. He loved it.

Ingredients

• 2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 8 ounces whole-wheat farfalle or similar-size pasta
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/3 cup quartered pitted Kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried

Preparation

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
2. Combine tomatoes, garlic, oil and vinegar in a large bowl; let stand while you cook the pasta.
3. Cook pasta in the boiling water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again.
4. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture along with chickpeas, cucumber, feta, olives and oregano; gently toss to combine.