Italian Grinder Pasta Salad

Lunches are hard for me. You'd think they'd be easy since I work from hom. But oddly, they are the most difficult for me to plan. Thus I usually end up winging it and that never goes well. I'm not a huge fan of leftovers, so those don't always get eaten for lunch the next day (don't worry. I don't toss them. I freeze them for the Pantry Goat).

I saw a reel on Instagram of this woman making a pasta salad for her weeks worth of lunches. She loaded it up with veggies and pasta and protein. And it was an Italian Grinder pasta salad (based off the sandwich). Since I happen to love Italian Grinder sandwiches I thought I'd give this a try. 

The best part about this type of salad is you can either follow it exactly (not likely for me) or toss in what you have (more like me). I had cheese tortellini in the freezer that I thought I'd use instead of cavatappi - a decision I'd make every time. I also had whole black olives hanging out in the fridge from a recipe a week or so ago. In they go. I don't particularly care for cubed turkey so I opted to go (the less healthy route) and popped in some diced pepperoni. Again, another decision I won't regret. 

The way to make this a real salad lunch to me was the romain lettuce. That bulked it up a bit and stopped me from eating only pasta and salamis. 

Another thought I had after lunch was that the dressing - or salad - would do well with some parmesan cheese in it as well. Next time.

Italian Grinder Pasta Salad

Recipe from 12 Tomatoes

Serves 8-10

SALAD

• 1 (16 oz) box cavatappi shaped pasta, cooked and cooled
• 1 ½ cup roughly chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 cup assorted cherry tomatoes, chopped
• ½ cup diced provolone cheese
• ⅓ cup sliced pepperoncini peppers, drained
• ⅓ cup diced salami
• ⅓ cup diced deli-style turkey

DRESSING

• ½ cup mayo
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Salt to taste

In small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients until well combined.

Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss with dressing.

Cover and chill for 30 minutes before serving.