Greek Yogurt Cantaloupe Pasta Salad

This is a nice dish for those hot days when you want something cool to eat. You get the sweetness from the cantaloupe and a nice sour tang from the dressing. This recipe is very similar to the Greek Yogurt Soy Sauce Chicken Pasta Salad dish (whose recipe can be found here). The main difference in this recipe is the use of cantaloupe instead or chicken, making this dish vegetarian.

Enjoy!

Salad Ingredients

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

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

½ whole Cantaloupe, diced

1 cup Cherry Tomatoes (from my garden)     

1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 Green Onion Stalks, sliced

1 cup Kalamata Olives

1 cup Feta Cheese

¼ cup Basil, chopped roughly (from my garden)

¼ cup Mint, chopped roughly (from my garden)

¼ cup Cilantro, chopped roughly

Red and Yellow Tomatoes wedges for garnish (optional; from my garden)

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. Cut the cantaloupe in half and then cut the half into 4 wedges. Remove the rind from the cantaloupe wedges and then dice the cantaloupe. Add the diced cantaloupe to the mixing bowl.
3. Wash and de-stem the cherry tomatoes, and add them to the mixing bowl.
4. Wash and cut the red bell pepper into 1-inch pieces. Any colored bell pepper can be substituted for red bell pepper.
5. Wash and slice the green onions, and add to the mixing bowl.
6. Add the Kalamata olives to the mixing bowl and add to the mixing bowl
7. Add the feta cheese to the mixing bowl.
8. Wash and roughly chop the basil, mint, and cilantro, and add to the mixing bowl.
9. 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. Cut the red and yellow tomatoes into wedges and garnish the serving plates (optional).
6. Serve with Garlic Garlic Bread.