Italian-Style Pasta Toss

Jeff the Chef

This Italian-Style Pasta Toss has everything you want: mozzarella, Parmesan, olives, veggies, salami … all in a dressing that will knock your socks off.

Italian-Style Pasta Toss
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Italian-Style Pasta Toss

Recipe by Make It Like a Man!Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: Italian
Makes

6

servings

Ingredients

  • 1 medium cauliflower

  • 3-4 Tbs + 1/3 cup olive oil, divided

  • Salt and pepper

  • Red pepper flakes (optional)

  • 6 oz. (2½ cups) rotini

  • 1 small red onion

  • 1 cup (4 oz.) mozzarella pearls

  • 4 oz. salami, sliced and cut into strips

  • 1/2 cup chopped green or red bell pepper (from 1 small pepper)

  • 1/3 cup sliced pitted ripe olives

  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

  • 1/3-1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained, chopped

  • 1 jar (6.5 oz.) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped (optional)

  • 1/3 cup white wine vinegar

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tsp dried basil, crushed

  • 1 tsp dried oregano, crushed

  • 1/2 tsp sugar

  • 2 small tomatoes, cut into wedges

  • 2 Tbs finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F (convection 400°F). Wash and prep the cauliflower into evenly-sized, small florets and drizzle them with 3-4 Tbs oil, then season with salt and pepper. (Add red-pepper flakes, to taste.) Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast cauliflower until the florets are browned, about 20 minutes.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again.
  • Cut the ends off the onion and peel it. Then, slice it thinly. Separate the rings. Set aside the smallest rings – from about 1/3 of the onion – and repurpose the rest.
  • In a bowl, toss together 1 cup of cauliflower (repurpose any remaining), cooked pasta, onion, mozzarella, salami, bell pepper, olives, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, (and artichoke hearts).
  • For the dressing, in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine remaining 1/3-cup oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, sugar, and 1/2-tsp pepper. Cover and shake well. Pour over salad. Toss to coat. Cover; chill 4 to 24 hours. To serve, add tomatoes; toss gently. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Makes 6 main-dish servings.

Notes

  • Substitutions: medium macaroni shells, farfalle, penne, or tortellini for the rotini. Cubed provolone for the mozzarella. Thinly sliced zucchini for the cauliflower, or a mixture of the two. Cherry tomatoes, cut in half, for the tomatoes.
"Italian Pasta Toss," from Make It Like a Man!

Social Learning

Surprisingly, a small head of cauliflower will produce about a generous cup of small, roasted florets.

At first, I thought this salad was going to be too intense, but as it melds in the fridge, it also mellows to the point that it’s extra-flavorful, but not edgy. The onion, in fact, kinda-sorta pickles itsef. You get really important notes of bitterness that seem to balance the boldness. And it just gets better as it sits: it’s better the third day than it was on the second day. It’s even better than that on the fourth day, and then it kind of stabilizes and continues to taste great for almost a week from its original birthday.

The Backstory

If you look this salad up online, you’ll find that there’s a lot of flexibility with regard to the ingredients. Indeed, you could apparently throw nearly anything into it: other (roasted) veg, or sauteed chicken, for instance. Cauliflower is called for in most of the recipes that I’ve seen for this pasta toss, but it’s always raw. I don’t like raw cauliflower as much as I like it roasted, so that was my twist.

For the salami, I chose a small batch soppressata from Salumi Chicago, which I found at my local grocery. When I cut into it, I thought it was maybe not going to be for me, but when I tasted it, yowza. It’s really good. And it was fabulous in the salad. I’ve wanted to visit Salumi for the longest time, but I keep not getting around to it.

Adult Lunchbox

If you bring this salad to work, you should bring some mints or something, because it’s going to do a number on your breath. A lot – but not all – of that comes from the raw onion. This effect lessens as the salad ages.

If you’re packing this salad in your lunch, be literal about the directions: toss in the tomatoes, but sprinkle the cheese on top. The tomatoes will be perfectly fine in the leftover salad. If you toss the cheese into the salad, it might become soggy, and a hard cheese that’s become soggy is a dealbreaker. However, if you layer the cheese on top, and extract servings without disturbing that arrangement, the cheese will remain perfectly fine.

"Italian Pasta Toss," from Make It Like a Man!
Italian-Style Pasta Toss

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor. References: “Italian-Style Pasta Toss,” in Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. (Des Moines, IA: BHG, 1996), 424-425. Also Cozi, Food.com, Lund & Byerlys. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #14 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs.

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28 thoughts on “Italian-Style Pasta Toss”

  1. Love it! Can’t go wrong with these ingredients and that great vinaigrette. I call my version an antipasti pasta salad, but I like your addition of roasted cauliflower.

    Reply

  3. Fantastic dish! I love the flexibility with the ingredients — lucky for me, I’m retired and don’t need to think about my lunchbox anymore! However, this will be perfect for hikes and picnics.

    Reply

  4. This looks and sounds delicious. I’m with you on the raw cauliflower. I like it roasted or grilled myself.

    Reply

  6. What a great pasta salad! It will be perfect for summer gatherings—packed full of all sorts of delicious, flavorful ingredients.

    Reply

  7. Oh wow!
    Bookmarking this for an outdoor summertime meal! We are inn the process of getting the back yard, decks and patios ready for summer. This will be perfect for a balmy night!

    Reply

  8. I love that you’ve added cauliflower and optional artichokes to this dish Jeff, there’s no need for any extra veg or anything with it is there? I would buy up big on all of the ingredients and then have a good excuse to make pizza with any leftover ingredients. The dressing does look good.

    Reply

  9. Hi Jeff, “Knock your socks off” that’s where you had me! I enjoy making batch salads and serving them up for a side dish, grab n go, or by themselves. You are absolutely right salads afford so many possibilities.
    This pasta salad is a winner.

    Velva

    Reply

  12. Looks delicious Jeff! That amazing vinaigrette really brings all the flavours in all those delicious ingredients!

    Reply

  13. Now this is right up my alley! Like you, I’m not really a fan of raw cauliflower. Roasting it for this pasta toss sounds like a great idea, and I’d love to have these leftovers in my fridge for lunch today!

    Reply

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