Summer Pasta Salad

  • 1 package (12 ounces) tricolor spiral pasta
  • 1 package (10 ounces) refrigerated tricolor tortellini
  • 1 jar (7-1/2 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, undrained
  • 1/2 pound fresh broccoli florets (about 1-3/4 cups)
  • 12 ounces provolone cheese, cubed
  • 12 ounces hard salami, cubed
  • 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped
  • 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • Italian salad dressing

Cook spiral pasta and tortellini according to package directions.
Drain and rinse in cold water. Place in a large bowl; add the artichokes, broccoli, provolone cheese, salami, peppers, beans, olives, onion and garlic.
Pour salad dressing over salad and toss to coat.
Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

Makes 14-16 servings.

DID YOU KNOW...?

The word “salad” comes from the Latin word “salata”, meaning salty or “from salt”.

A medium strawberry has approximately 200 seeds and is the only fruit with seeds on the outside.

During the 1930s, approximately 1/3 of the recipes for salad in an average cookbook were for some type of Jello salads.

According to the Association for Dressings and Sauces, the most popular salad dressings are:

1. Ranch
2. Blue Cheese
3. Italian
4. French
5. Thousand Island
6. Caesar
7. Honey Dijon
8. Poppyseed
9. Balsamic Vinaigrette
10. Olive Oil Vinaigrette
11. Red Wine Vinaigrette
12. Creamy Italian

One cup of fresh strawberries has only 55 calories and contains, 1 gram protein, 3 grams of fibre, 149% of your daily intake of vitamin C, 9% of your daily intake of folate, and 7% of your daily intake for potassium.

The largest salad on record was made in Spain in September 2007. It weighed 6700 kilograms, contained lettuce, tomato, onion, peppers and olives, was supervised by 20 cooks and took over 3 hours to complete. It was served up in a container that was 59 feet long by 15.7 feet wide!