Ugly Pasta Salad

Name: Ugly Pasta Salad
Ingredients: 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained; 1 (15 ounce) can hominy, rinsed and drained; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes; 1 lb medium-sized pasta shells; 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional); fresh ground black pepper

12 ingredients

9 steps

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can hominy, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
1 lb medium-sized pasta shells
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1

Combine oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, thyme, and oregano in a large bowl, whisking to combine.
2

Add chickpeas, hominy and mozzarella cubes and stir to combine.
3

Cover and refrigerate for as long as you can to let the flavors combine (or let it sit out just while the pasta cooks-- it will still tasty).
4

Cook the pasta shells according to package directions.
5

Drain and rinse in cold water.
6

Add pasta to the marinated ingredients, stirring to combine.
7

Eat hot, warm, room temperature, or cold (the salad makes great leftovers), sprinkling each serving with the optional Parmesan cheese separately.
8

Note: As you can imagine, this recipe could have many, many different vegetables added to it and many different cheeses would make tasty additions.
9

I sometimes add olives, grape tomatoes, scallions, etc.