Italian Pasta Salad

Recipe: Italian Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 box of rotini pasta
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cucumber, quartered and chopped
• Half a package or roughly 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• Sea salt to taste (roughly 1 & 1/2 teaspoon at least)
• 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 stem of fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta in salted water al dente, make sure not to overcook until they are soft and swelling.
2. Let the pasta sit in a bowl in the fridge until cold before adding ingredients.
3. Once cooled, mix pasta with olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, black pepper, salt, and parmesan cheese.
4. Cut the whole cucumber lengthwise in half, and then cut each half lengthwise again to have four long pieces. Proceed to cut those into quarters, roughly at quarter-inch thick. Mix in with the pasta salad.
5. Cut cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and mix them in with the salad.
6. Mince fresh basil into ribbons. Set aside until ready to serve.
7. Once ready to serve, lightly drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the entire bowl of salad, trying to dispense evenly. Lightly toss.