Adapted from Simple Pasta by Odette Williams

Chopped Salad Pasta is a wonderful recipe that is so versatile. It is virtually an antipasto pasta salad with complementary flavors of salami, chickpeas, fontina cheese, pepperoncini with a nice foundational vinaigrette dressing. I first saw this recipe in the Wall Street Journal, which was lovingly adapted from Simple Pasta by Odette Williams. The beauty of this recipe is you can easily substitute various ingredients to suit your taste and what might be in your pantry. For instance, you can swap out salami for tuna packed in oil, or add marinated quartered artichokes instead of pepperoncini, or substitute toasted pine nuts for the fontina cheese. Make it your salad for your taste!

Chopped Salad Pasta

Makes 4 servings

30 minutes Time

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 10 ounces dried ditalini or other small pasta, like macaroni or small conchiglie

• A splash of extra-virgin olive oil, plus ½ cup

• Two (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 4 ounces salami, cut into matchsticks

• ⅔ cup coarsely chopped pepperoncini

• 6 ounces fontina, cut into ¼-inch cubes

• 2 cups coarsely chopped radicchio or arugula

• ½ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard

• 8 sprigs thyme, stemmed

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine onions, vinegar and lemon juice, and let marinate while you cook pasta.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain pasta in a colander, place in a large bowl and add a splash of olive oil to stop it from sticking together.

3. Add chickpeas, salami, pepperoncini, fontina, radicchio and parsley to pasta, and toss to combine.

4. Whisk ½ cup olive oil, honey, mustard, thyme and salt into onion-vinegar mixture and season with pepper. Pour over pasta and toss to combine.

5. Serve pasta on a platter and season with some cranks of pepper.

Recipe Note: This recipe states it makes 4 servings, but I found it made more. I think it helps to chill the recipe ahead a few hours to let all of the beautiful flavors meld, and then bring it up to room temperature before serving.

Related Past Posts:

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
Perfect Holiday Salad

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie