Creamy Lemon Dill Greek Pasta Salad

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

15 mins

TOTAL TIME

30 mins

 

Serves: 6 (about 1.5 cups each)

INGREDIENTS

CREAMY LEMON DILL DRESSING

• 5oz. container plain Greek yogurt 
• ¼ cup mayonnaise 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 fresh lemon 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• ¼ tsp dried dill
• Freshly cracked pepper 

PASTA SALAD

• 1 lb. penne 
• 1 cup grape tomatoes 
• 1 cucumber (about 2 cups chopped) 
• 15oz. can quartered artichoke hearts 
• ¼ red onion 
• 2oz. feta 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the dressing first so the flavors have time to blend. Use a zester or small-holed cheese grater to remove the zest from the lemon. In a small bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, 1 Tbsp of the lemon juice, ½ tsp of the lemon zest, salt, dill, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill). Refrigerate the dressing until ready to use.
2. Cook the pasta, in lightly salted water, according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and rinse briefly with cool water to bring the temperature down. Let the pasta drain until it's slightly dry and tacky on the surface.
3. While the pasta is cooking, slice the cucumber, then cut the slices into quarter rounds. Slice the grape tomatoes in half. Finely dice the red onion. Drain the artichoke hearts, then roughly chop them. Crumble the feta cheese.
4. Once the pasta is cooled and drained, Place it in a large bowl and combine with the cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, artichoke hearts, feta, and creamy lemon dill dressing. Stir to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.

STEP  BY STEP PHOTOS

Begin by removing the zest from one lemon. You’ll need about 1/2 tsp of the zest for the dressing, but you can keep the rest to use as a garnish.

Prepare the dressing first, so the flavors have time to infuse into the yogurt. In a small bowl, stir together one 5oz. container of Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp of the lemon zest, 1 Tbsp of the lemon’s juice, 1/4 tsp dried dill, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. If you can’t find a single-serving container of Greek yogurt that is exactly 5oz, no worries. That part is flexible. It seems like every brand is a different size, but anywhere between 5-7oz. will be okay.

Refrigerate the dressing until you’re ready to use it.

Cook one pound of penne pasta in lightly salted water, according to the package directions. Once cooked, drain in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water to bring the temperature down. Let the pasta drain until it’s slightly tacky or sticky on the surface. This will allow it to grip the dressing better than really wet pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients. Slice about 1 cup of grape tomatoes in half, cut one cucumber into quarter rounds (about 2 cups), dice 1/4 red onion, drain and roughly chop one 15oz. can of quartered artichoke hearts, and crumble 2oz. of feta.

Combine the drained pasta, the vegetables, and feta in a large bowl.

Pour the creamy lemon dill dressing on top, then stir to coat.

And you’re done! You can garnish with any extra lemon zest or a light sprinkle of dried dill.

Fast, easy, delicious, and a little more budget friendly. ;)

Source from http://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/08/creamy-lemon-dill-greek-pasta-salad/