This salad is a very easy and fun pasta salad to make and has great flavor. It's also a great way to introduce a well balanced diet into the younger age groups.

I know first-hand that sometimes we may not want to eat our vegetables and we even may frown at new ones. This recipe works as a vegetarian dish too. The artichoke pasta salad is a great tasting dish for all ages, I have used it in both my cooking classes on the college level and during my teaching through the school district for the middle School teaching groups.

Quick Artichoke Pasta Salad

Serves 5

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup salad bow tie pasta, or other medium-size pasta
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 cup pitted black olives, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon fresh basil, sliced
1/2 cup mushrooms, quartered
1 (6.5 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Italian dressing to taste if desired, which I personally do

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil; add pasta and boil until done. Drain well and rinse with cold water. In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, artichoke hearts (along with cans liquid or Italian dressing is good also), mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, parsley, basil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper; toss well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to help marinade the flavors together. Before serving, season the pasta dish with salt and pepper to taste.

~Chef Nick