Italian Pasta Salad

Great for summer parties. This makes a huge big bowl so cut the recipe in half to serve fewer. Very easy to prepare ahead and pull out at the last minute. The pasta will absorb the dressing, so prepare all the ingredients and store them in separate small bags until 30 minutes before serving time. Then, just pull it out, toss it all together and serve. This is the signature dish from a gourmet deli and catering company where I worked briefly during college. :)

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Yields: 1 huge bowl

Ingredients

• 12 -16  ounces rotelle pasta (or pasta shape of your choice)
• 6  green onions
• 3  stalks celery
• 1⁄2 head cauliflower
• 1  bunch broccoli
• 1 (8 ounce) bag carrots
• 3⁄4 cup black olives, sliced
• 1⁄2 cup green olives, sliced
• 1 1⁄2 cups  hard salami, cubes
• 1  cup swiss cheese, cubes
• 1  cup cheddar cheese cube

• dressing

• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
• 1⁄3 cup red wine vinegar
• 3⁄4 teaspoon sweet basil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon oregano
• 1  tablespoon garlic powder
• 1  tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain well and set aside.
2. Slice onions, celery and carrots into bite sized pieces. Cut up broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized pieces, discarding stems.
3. Mix dressing ingredients together. Set aside and do not chill dressing.
4. Chill salad ingredients (except dressing) in refrigerator in separate plastic bags until 1/2 hour before serving time.
5. One half hour before serving time, combine vegetables, olives, salami, cheese and pasta together in very large bowl. Drizzle dressing over all, toss to coat. Chill.
6. If you like more dressing on your salad, you may want to up the dressing by 1/2 or double it.