Muffaletta/ Primavera Pasta Salad And Bev Birthday

I made a double recipe of this dish six years ago  for a dock party and it was a major hit with our guests – some called it the best ever, so I decided it was time for a rerun but just a single recipe this time as shown below. When I was at the Food City deli ordering the meat and cheese the way I did, the clerk guessed that I was making pasta salad.

Muffaletta/ Primavera Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. small shaped pasta (I used rotini)

1½ cups yellow squash, half moons

1½ cups broccoli, small florets

1 cup red bell pepper, ½” pieces

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, halved or quartered

1 tsp. minced garlic

½ tsp. each dried oregano, basil, thyme leaves

½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper

3 ounce Italian mix giardiniera, chopped

¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers

¼ cup halved pimento stuffed olives

¼ cup halved kalamata olives

¼ cup sliced black olives

1 tablespoons capers, drained

2 ounces Genoa salami, cut into ½” pieces

2 ounces ham, cut into matchsticks

2 ounces provolone cheese, cut into bite size pieces – ½” squares

2 ounces Fontina cheese, cut into bite size pieces – ½“ squares

1 bottle Newman’s Italian Dressing (Start with half a bottle)

Directions:

1. Prep the broccoli, squash, and peppers and thaw the peas.  Veggie amounts and types can be adjusted to suit you.

2. Prepare the olive salad by mixing the artichoke hearts, garlic, dried herbs, black pepper, giardiniera, roasted red peppers, olives, and capers.  You can also use a cup or so of store-bought olive salad.

3. Prep the meat and cheese.

4. While prepping, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Add broccoli for the final two minutes.  Remove from heat and drain.

5. Add the prepped veggies to the drained pasta pan, season with S&P, pour the hot pasta over it, and stir to combine – this will cook the veggies a little.

6. Stir the salad dressing into the pasta then stir in the olive salad.

7. After it cools stir in the meat, and cheese.

7. Taste and adjust seasoning and salad dressing.

The Verdict:

This may not be the best pasta salad you ever made, but if you like a muffaletta sandwich and pasta primavera, it will surely it will be one of them.  It made a large bowl full and plenty for a crowd and, of course, all of the ingredients can be adjusted for your taste.  Cindy thought it was OMG delicious and so did I.

Bev BD

Bev recently celebrated a birthday and we went to the local Cielto Lindo Mexican Restaurant for lunch and of course the servers sang to her and gave her a delicious free dessert.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

4/23/25 meal date