I'm so glad I waited to review this until the day after I made it. I tried it after chilling it for a couple of hours and wasn't too thrilled with it. I just made a bowl now, after it being in the fridge overnight and wow! It isn't dry at all and the flavors have really mingled and developed! I followed other's suggestions and used half balsamic vinegar instead of all red wine vinegar. I also used rotini pasta, regular tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, and a small purple onion. I left out the pepperoni just because I didn't have any, but next time I'll definately add it. As good as it tastes, if you do use balsamic, be warned that the pasta and feta will look brownish. I think someone else mentioned this, but if you're making for company, you might want to use white balsamic vinegar. This is soooo good, thank you for the great recipe!
This is the best pasta salad ever; however, the vinegar/oil ratio is a little strong for me. I recommend that you start with approx. 1/4 cup of vinegar (you can adjust and add more if you like) using half red wine vinegar and half balsamic as suggested by other reviews. I substitute 1 can artichoke hearts-not marinated-for the mushrooms. I also used diced red and yellow peppers for extra color and sliced olives. I prefer red onions instead of green onions and use tomato basil feta cheese and bowtie pasta. Yummy and beautiful 5 star salad!
My sister-in-law made this for Mother's Day lunch and it was incredible! I think she said she scaled the recipe for 16 servings, but it still went perfectly. Some of the modifications she made was using a mix of yellow, red and green bell peppers for color. She also added some artichokes and replaced the cherry tomatos with sun dried tomatoes. And she cut the amount of mushrooms by half. But the taste was amazing. Note: if you don't like vinegrette type dressings, then you will not like this salad because the vinegar taste really comes through. (Which is what gives this pasta a great kick and Greek flavor!) I love it! Recipe is a keeper!
I am updating my review! I added sausage (didn't before) and YUM! My changes were: 1) Halved the amount of dressing and used 2 vinegars: so ... 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 2) Even though I halved the amount of oil and vinegar, I still used the listed amounts of spices; 3) Used rinsed marinated artichokes instead of mushrooms; 4) 1 1/2 roasted red peppers instead of raw; 5) 1 cup of crumbled feta; 6) Omitted the olives; 7) Added a small dash of salt and lemon juice. Wow...those seem like a lot of changes but I don't think it affected the overall essence of the dish. Definitely let it marinate overnight. BTW: This is an embellished version of Greek Pasta Salad III...stick with this one.
Great pasta salad! The first time I made it was for a block party, and after tasting it, my husband wanted me to make something else to take so he could have this all for himself. I got quite a few raves at the party with it. I used rigatoni pasta, left out the pepperoni, and thought there was plenty enough dressing as it is. Make it a day ahead as called for, though.
I substituted sliced zucchini, cut in half, for the mushrooms & omitted the olives & pepperoni, due to family personal preferences. I may serve the pepperoni on the side, next time for those who'd like to add it. I also took the advice of some reviewers to save some of the dressing to add just before serving so the pasta wouldn't be too dry. Another hint is to take the dish out ahead of time as the olive oil solidifies in the fridge.
Everyone loved this recipe. Make sure to make the night ahead so the flavors have time to meld. Using pepperoni isn't necessary--it almost seemed like too much meat and the vegetarians in our group couldn't enjoy it then. Next time we may add some artichokes.
I really liked this pasta salad. I left out the sausage and added red onions and parmasean cheese. I used the absolutely fabulous dressing (from this site) and I think that it was the dressing that set this salad apart.
This is a wonderful recipe! I made it for a 4th of July BBQ, and it went fast! I subsitituted the elbow pasta for rotini instead. The only thing I would do different is leave a little dressing left over to toss right before serving. I would definitely make this again!
