Salami Caprese Pasta Salad with Homemade Dressing
This salami caprese pasta salad is easy to make and full of flavor. It even comes with a quick and easy homemade balsamic dressing.
Ingredients
For the Pasta:
- 1/2 cup uncooked (dry) small size penne pasta
- 2 teaspoons salt (for the boiling water)
For the Pasta Salad:
- 1 container (8 ounces) fresh mozzarella cheese balls liquid from the container drained out
- 1-1/2 cups cut sweet grape, teardrop or cherry tomatoes cut in half widthwise
- 16 slices salami each slice cut into 6 triangular pieces (like cutting a pizza)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
For the Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 dashes granulated garlic
- 3 dashes ground black pepper
- 3 dashes salt
Instructions
For the Pasta:
- In a medium size pot, add water and bring it to a boil. To the boiling water, add salt. To the pot, add penne pasta and stir.
- Let cook while occasionally stirring until the pasta is al dente (firm) (about 10 minutes or according to package instructions).
- Drain the pasta (don't rinse). Don’t rinse the pasta after cooking it. When pasta is rinsed, the starch is removed. The starch on pasta helps to hold and absorb the sauce or dressing so it’s important to keep the starch on the pasta. Set aside.
For the Pasta Salad:
- To a large bowl, add the mozzarella cheese balls, red onion, salami, pasta, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Gently stir all ingredients together so that the pasta is coated with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Top with thinly sliced fresh basil. Set aside while making the vinaigrette.
For the Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- In a small bowl, add all of the ingredients and whisk together.
- Just before serving whisk again and drizzle the vinaigrette on top of the salami caprese pasta salad.