Chopped Israeli Pasta Salad

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

Israeli Pasta Salad is a mash-up of two of my favorite summer salads, it's packed with veggies and actually gets better after a day or two in the fridge!

Ingredients

• ½ pound small bow tie or other small pasta
• ⅓ cup cucumber (finely diced)
• ⅓ cup radish (finely diced)
• ⅓ cup tomato (finely diced)
• ⅓ cup yellow bell pepper (finely diced)
• ⅓ cup orange bell pepper (finely diced)
• ⅓ cup black olives (finely diced)
• ⅓ cup green olives (halved)
• ⅓ cup red onion (finely diced)
• ⅓ cup pepperoncini (diced)
• ⅓ cup feta cheese (finely diced)
• lots of fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• dressing
• ¼ plus more, olive oil
• Lemon juiced

Method

1. Cook the pasta in well salted water until just al dente, don't over cook. I usually cook it at least 2 minutes under the time listed on the package. Drain and rinse in cold water.
2. Put the well drained (not dripping wet) pasta in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil so it doesn't stick together. Add the veggies, oregano, thyme, and salt and pepper. Hold out the feta cheese until the end.
3. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil and lemon juice and toss well. Gently fold in the feta cheese.
4. Refrigerate the salad for at least 2 hours, up to overnight. Taste before serving, you may want to add more olive oil, lemon, salt, or pepper.
5. Garnish with fresh thyme.

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island