Greek Yogurt Soy Sauce Chicken Pasta Salad

This recipe is very similar to the Soy Sauce Chicken and Peach Pasta Salad dish (whose recipe can be found here). The main difference in this recipe is the use of nonfat Greek yogurt and the addition of artichoke hearts and Kalamata olives. The Greek yogurt actually holds up better at being a dressing than regular yogurt. I made this dish for a family gathering the night before and mixed the dressing with the salad the day of the gathering. The dressing was still emulsified after being refrigerated overnight.

Enjoy!

Salad Ingredients

1 lb. Rotelle Pasta (or any pasta of your choice)

½ tsp. Salt (for adding to the pasta cooking water)

1 deboned Grilled Soy Sauce Chicken Breast, diced

1 cup Cherry Tomatoes

1 Yellow Peach, roasted (can also be barbequed) and diced

½ lb. Button Mushrooms, sliced

1 Orange Bell Pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 Cubanella Peppers, sliced into ¼-inch pieces

3 Green Onion Stalks, sliced

¾ cup Artichoke Hearts

¾ cup Kalamata Olives

1 cup Feta Cheese

¼ cup Basil, chopped roughly

¼ cup Mint, chopped roughly

¼ cup Cilantro, chopped roughly

Yogurt Dressing Ingredients

1 cup Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar

1 Tbs. Sesame Oil

2 Limes or 1 Lemon, juiced

1 Tbs. Coleman’s Mustard Powder

6 Garlic Cloves, crushed in a garlic press

½ tsp. Salt (or to taste)

½ tsp. Ground Black Pepper

Pasta Salad Preparation Instructions

1. Add salt and bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a pot to cook the pasta. When the water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for the manufacturer’s recommended cooking time until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and cool with cold water. Put the pasta into a large mixing bowl.
2. Dice the soy sauce chicken (or any leftover chicken) and add it to the mixing bowl with the pasta. The grilled soy sauce chicken recipe can be found here.
3. Wash and de-stem the tomatoes, and add them to the mixing bowl.
4. Wash, halve, and remove the pit from the peach. Roast the peach halves in a toaster oven until the peach is slightly brown, around 10 minutes at 470⁰F (or the peaches can be barbequed beforehand). Dice the peach halves and add to the mixing bowl.
5. Wash and slice the button mushrooms, and add to mixing bowl.
6. Wash and cut the orange bell pepper into 1-inch pieces. Any colored bell pepper can be substituted for orange bell peppers.
7. Wash and slice the Cubanella pepper into ¼-inch pieces. Any pepper can be substituted for Cubanella peppers.
8. Wash and slice the green onions, and add to the mixing bowl.
9. Add the artichoke hearts and Kalamata olives to the mixing bowl. The artichoke hearts can be cut into smaller pieces if desired.
10. Add the feta cheese to the mixing bowl.
11. Wash and roughly chop the basil, mint, and cilantro, and add to the mixing bowl.
12. Mix the ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Yogurt Dressing Preparation Instructions

1. Place the Greek yogurt, olive oil, seasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil, lime or lemon juice, mustard powder, crushed garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl and whisk together vigorously.
2. The salad and dressing preparation steps listed above can be done the night before. The salad and dressing can be mixed together the day the dish is to be served.
3. Pour the dressing into the mixing bowl with the salad ingredients and mix together.
4. Put the pasta salad into the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.
5. Serve with Garlic Garlic Bread.