Rainbow Pasta Salad

Rainbow Pasta Salad

I have blogged about "Eat the Rainbow", a nutritional guide to ensure that we are benefiting from a wide spectrum of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients provided by fruits and vegetables from each of these color groups: red, orange, yellow, green, blue/purple.

So, after a quick rummage through my fridge, I manage to find enough ingredients to make this colorful Rainbow Pasta Salad for dinner. This time, I'm using homemade fresh pasta.

See how many types of pasta I have in my kitchen? I have spaghetti (squid ink), orecchiette, elbow, macaroni, ditalini, and orzo. And of course, homemade fresh pasta.

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

2 cups homemade fresh pasta
4 generous tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped broccoli florets & stem
1 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halves
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken breast
1/2 cup sliced black olives
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the dressing:
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of fine Himalayan pink salt

How to:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite for about 10 minutes. Drain and place the pasta in a large bowl. Reserve the pasta water.

2. Toss the pasta with extra virgin olive oil.

3. Bring the pasta water to a boil again. Blanch broccoli, carrot, and red bell pepper for about 4 minutes. Drain and add these vegetables to the pasta bowl.

4. Add in cherry tomatoes, shredded chicken breast, and black olives. Toss until well combined.

5. To make the dressing, mix all ingredients together and pour over the salad. Give everything a quick toss. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese generously and season with freshly ground black pepper.