Rotini Pasta Salad

A colorful and zesty blend of curly pasta, meaty black olives, smoky roasted red peppers, green onions, poppin' green peas, fresh herbs, and nutty parmesan cheese. And since this refreshing salad is lunchbox and cooler friendly - it might become one of your go-to recipes for a long, long time! 

About the pasta: I used curly rotini pasta because that was my current mood. What mood are you in? Any pasta shape works! 

About the olives: For this salad, I opted for black olives - a deviation from my normal oil-cured or Greek olives. You can use any olive you want, including stuffed green olives. 

Want to prep ahead? This salad keeps very well, so you can prep ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Rotini Pasta Salad 
Toss the pasta with the oil, vinegar and herbs while it's STILL WARM; this ensures it soaks up the flavors!

16 ounces spiral pasta, or any pasta shape of choice 
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup frozen peas, keep frozen until ready to use 
1/4 cup chopped scallions (green onions)
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/4 cup sliced black olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese 
Salt and ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and, while still warm, transfer to large bowl and add the oil, vinegar, oregano, and basil. Stir to coat. 
Fold in the peas, scallions, roasted red peppers, olives, parsley, parmesan. Mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
Serve warm, room temperature or chilled. 

Serves 4