Greek Goddess Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1 (12 ounce) package tri-colored rotini pasta
• 1 small head broccoli, broken into small florets
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 (12 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (12 ounce) jar pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• 1 (8 ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained, cut into strips
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 (12 ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, cut into strips
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 small cucumber, chopped
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 (16 ounce) bottle greek vinaigrette salad dressing

Recipe

Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Ready Time: 1 hr 50 mins


• fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. once the water is boiling, stir in the pasta, and return to a boil. cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. drain well in a colander set in the sink, rinse with cool water and place in a large bowl.
• place a steamer insert into a saucepan, and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. add the broccoli , recover, and steam until just tender, 2 to 6 minutes depending on thickness. rinse the broccoli with cold water, finely chop, and add to pasta.
• stir in the garlic, red onion, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, and yellow pepper and combine well.
• cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and remove from the skin with a large spoon. cut the avocados into large pieces, place in a small bowl and mash well with a fork. slowly whisk in the greek dressing until well combined. pour the greek-avocado dressing into the pasta salad and gently toss. refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.