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  • - Hey everybody.

  • It's Natasha of NatashaKitchen.com

  • and today I'm gonna show you how to make

  • an Italian pasta salad.

  • This is loaded with all the best ingredients.

  • This is so satisfying and it keeps really well

  • in the refrigerator so it is perfect for meal prep.

  • (gentle whoosh)

  • And I'm gonna show you how to make

  • a homemade Italian dressing

  • that'll make you fall in love with salad.

  • So let's get started.

  • (bell dinging)

  • We'll start with the simple dressing.

  • In a mason jar, combine 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

  • and three tablespoons of white white vinegar.

  • Next add 1/4 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese

  • and one tablespoon of real mayo.

  • Also add one teaspoon of sugar

  • to balance out that vinegar,

  • and finely grate in one large garlic clove.

  • You can also use a garlic press.

  • For our seasonings, we use 1/2 a teaspoon each

  • of oregano, parsley and basil,

  • also 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.

  • Most store bought salad dressings are saltier

  • so if you do like more salt, you can add the salt to taste.

  • Cover that tightly with the lid

  • and shake it up until it's well combined.

  • I love making this in a mason jar

  • because you can make it ahead and it keeps

  • really well in the refrigerator.

  • Then just before serving, just give it a good shake.

  • Try that yummy dressing and you can add

  • more salt to taste at this point.

  • We'll set that aside and make our Italian pasta salad.

  • To cook the pasta, bring a large sauce pan

  • of water to a boil.

  • Casually add salt to the water.

  • Then add eight ounces of rotini pasta

  • and cook according to the package instructions

  • until it's al dente or firm to the bite.

  • It's super important that you don't overcook the pasta.

  • While the pasta is on the stove,

  • you can prep the rest of your ingredients.

  • Slice up six ounces of salami into thin strips.

  • Next cut in half 10 ounces or

  • about three cups of cherry tomatoes.

  • And I find it's easiest to use a serrated knife

  • to get through those tomato skins.

  • And if you have a trick

  • for quickly cutting up cherry tomatoes,

  • let me in know in the comments.

  • Next dice up half of an English cucumber.

  • And what I love about this salad

  • is you can change it up

  • based on what's on your refrigerator.

  • If you don't like cucumbers, you can also try bell peppers.

  • You'll see me using this food scraper tool a ton.

  • It is one of my favorite kitchen tools

  • and it's very inexpensive.

  • I will link to ours in the notes.

  • Next, finely dice one medium red onion.

  • And I do like to finely dice

  • so that it still has all of that great onion flavor

  • but it disappears into the salad.

  • Next you'll need eight ounces of fresh mozzarella.

  • I'm using mozzarella pearls because it's easy

  • and you don't have to cut them.

  • But you can also use mozzarella balls

  • and cut those in half or use an eight ounce block

  • of fresh mozzarella and just dice it up.

  • We're using 1/2 a cup of black olives.

  • And you can buy those pitted and sliced already

  • to save yourself some time.

  • I also love to add 1/2 a cup of Kalamata olives.

  • Make sure you get the ones that are pitted

  • and just cut them in half.

  • Also add 1/2 cup of roasted red peppers,

  • coarsely chop those up.

  • And you can use store bought roasted red peppers in a jar

  • or you can roast your own.

  • If you're feeling adventurous, I will leave a link

  • to our tutorial on how to roast sweet peppers.

  • And last but not least,

  • finely chop 1/3 cup of fresh parsley.

  • Now make sure you have your timer set for your pasta

  • and turn it off as soon as it reach al dente.

  • Then drain off the hot water right away

  • and rinse under cold water until the pasta

  • is completely cooled down.

  • Rinsing the pasta in cold water does

  • three important things.

  • It stops the cooking process, removes excess starch

  • and cools down the pasta.

  • Now just layer everything into a large salad bowl,

  • starting with the pasta as a base.

  • I love arranging things in a ring.

  • That way you can see all the tasty

  • and beautiful ingredients.

  • And it just looks irresistibly good.

  • I love that you can really customize the salad

  • and if there's something special

  • that you put into your pasta salads,

  • let me know in the notes.

  • Oh, who's excited?

  • (laughing)

  • All that's left to do is to dress it up and serve it

  • and if you wanted to make it ahead for a party

  • or for meal prep, you could just cover it with plastic wrap,

  • pop it in the fridge and it'll last longer that way

  • before adding the dressing.

  • Or you can dress it a couple hours before your event.

  • Ah it just gets better as it stands.

  • So lets do this.

  • Alright and then with a dressing,

  • just like with any dressing,

  • there is some settling and that's normal.

  • It can separate.

  • So just before serving, give it a good shake

  • to combine everything back together.

  • Make sure it's really smooth.

  • And then,

  • oh oh that smells good.

  • Oh that smells good (laughs) and it's had

  • some time to meld.

  • Oh my goodness.

  • Seriously this gets better with time too.

  • Alright, lets do this.

  • And be generous.

  • Just add the dressing to taste.

  • Alright now that we've added a generous amount of dressing,

  • we just have to toss this together

  • so that every bite is coated in that scrumptious dressing.

  • My mouth is totally watering for this

  • and I'm hungry (laughing).

  • This is perfect because it is a meal in itself.

  • It's loaded with grain and protein with salami and cheese.

  • And then tons of fresh veggies.

  • This is such a treat.

  • Also perfect for parties because it is make ahead.

  • Oh my goodness, make this and watch people's eyes light up.

  • It's so good.

  • (laughing)

  • Okay.

  • I'm gonna get right to this.

  • Seriously I'm so hungry.

  • Alright here we go.

  • Ah and it's just a nice blend of everything.

  • 'Cause I don't like pasta salads

  • where it's just a ton of pasta.

  • I like a ton of everything.

  • Okay here we go.

  • Try to get a little bit of everything on my fork,

  • which is like good luck to me

  • because there's a lot of stuff.

  • (laughing)

  • Okay here we go.

  • Mm!

  • Mm!

  • Hm.

  • That is so good.

  • I love the different textures in there too.

  • You've got the tender plump noodles.

  • And the cheese of course.

  • And then the crisp veggies, the cucumber and tomato.

  • It is such a treat.

  • It just feels so fresh and so, so satisfying.

  • And then seriously, this dressing,

  • you have to try this dressing.

  • Not just for this salad but for all of your salads.

  • (laughing)

  • I'll leave a link to the print friendly version

  • in the description.

  • It is just such a good Italian dressing.

  • Also before you add the dressing,

  • this is perfect for meal prepping.

  • And we love to use these containers.

  • I'll link to these, our favorite.

  • We reuse them.

  • They're washable which is awesome.

  • You just wanna put in the salad before the dressing

  • and just put the little dressing in a little cup

  • and mix it together and serve it

  • when you're ready to eat it.

  • It's perfect for work lunch, school lunch.

  • So delicious and satisfying.

  • And there's no need to heat it.

  • And I love that you can change it up

  • based on what you have in the fridge.

  • You could add some fresh bell pepper.

  • You could change up the cheese.

  • A feta cheese would be really good here or Parmesan.

  • Add a different kind of veggie.

  • It's just really up to you.

  • Make the salad your own.

  • This is just our favorite pasta salad.

  • If you guys love this recipe

  • and you're looking for more meal prep ideas

  • that you can make ahead, check out

  • some of our favorites right over there

  • and right down there.

  • And make sure before you go, you click below

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  • We'll see you in our next video.

- Hey everybody.

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