Dirty Martini Pasta Salad
This viral recipe takes everything you love about a dirty martini and turns it into a light, refreshing pasta salad. Think salty olives and feta plus chewy pasta with a simple olive brine dressing.
Servings: 6
Calories: 355kcal
Ingredients
- ½ pound pasta of choice
- 1 cup pitted large green olives roughly chopped
- 100 g feta cheese, cubed or blue cheese crumbles
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup olive brine
- 1 clove fresh minced garlic
- 1 lemon
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water.
- In a small mason jar, make the dressing. Combine the olive oil, olive brine, minced garlic, zest of half the lemon, juice of ¼ lemon, and a good amount of black pepper. Close and shake until combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, roughly chopped olives, and feta cubes. Pour the dressing on top and toss to coat everything. Taste and add more pepper, lemon juice, or salt if necessary. Enjoy!
Notes
- Very lightly salt the pasta water and do not add any salt to the pasta salad until you've tasted it at the end. The olive brine and feta are very salty, so you don't want to over-salt.
- You could use any type of olives, however green olives are most classic in a martini.
- The pasta used here is called Mafalda Corta by Garofalo. Use gluten-free pasta if required.
- Chill the pasta salad for at least 30 minutes so the flavours can mingle.
- Store pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before enjoying for the best texture.
Nutrition
Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.1g | Protein: 7.6g | Fat: 20.2g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12.6g | Cholesterol: 14.8mg | Sodium: 635mg | Potassium: 114mg | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 1.2g | Vitamin A: 48IU | Vitamin C: 1.5mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 0.8mg