Salami Pasta Salad For People Who Like Picnics and Penne, and How to Buy Quality Olive Oil

It sounds like an online dating ad for a salad—for people who like picnics, penne, and parsley—but this side dish has a lot going for it with its slippery olive oil, tangy vinegar, and salty chunks of salami. It will catch your attention without an embellished ingredient list or exaggerated prep time.

Easy Salami Pasta Salad doesn’t contain mayonnaise or eggs so it’s a smart option for outdoor entertaining, picnics, and office lunches. And more times than not, I’ve eaten this as the main course with a side of fresh bread. It keeps well in the refrigerator for just a few days so you want to eat it up quickly or share with your friends. Serve it at room temperature so the oil has time to turn back into a liquid.

For heightened flavor, use a good olive oil. Here are a few resources:

1. Local to the Brookings, South Dakota area – visit the Coteau des Prairies Olive Oil Co. tasting bar at the Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge located at 726 Main Avenue South and talk to Michael Johnson. Or shop online at Coteau des Prairies Olive Oil Co.
2. Read or listen to “What extra virgin means, and who in the olive oil industry abides” from the Splendid Table.
3. Read author and journalist Tom Mueller’s book Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil.

If you like cold pasta salad, try my taco ranch pasta salad with corn, black beans, peppers and cheddar cheese. They don’t contain pasta, but summer is also a good time to serve my ex-in-law broccoli ranch salad with cauliflower, peas, celery and red onion or chicken chickpea cilantro salad with rotisserie chicken.

View our favorite easy salami pasta salad recipe from Taste of Home.

Sweet & tangy wishes,