Greek Pasta Salad with Kefir Dressing

"This is a wonderful mediterranian pasta salad. It is very tasty and also very healthy, too, cause it uses no cream or mayonnaise. You can make it even healthier by using whole wheat pasta instead of regular. This is great served with some oven-warm bread or just eaten plain."
 
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photo by flower7 photo by flower7
photo by flower7
photo by teriferrer photo by teriferrer
photo by littlemafia photo by littlemafia
photo by MsSally photo by MsSally
photo by MsSally photo by MsSally
Ready In:
25mins
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
2
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ingredients

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directions

  • Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente (firm to the bite). In the last five minutes of cooking add spinach.
  • For the sauce combine kefir, oil, garlic, dill and lemon juice in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • In a big bowl combine sauce, drained pasta and spinach, tomatoes, olives and onion.
  • Season again to taste.
  • Let cool and serve or eat warm. Enjoy!

Questions & Replies

  1. Kefir what is this
     
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Reviews

  1. This was a nice twist on the typical Greek pasta salads, which I am really fond of. I doubled the ingredients and made exactly as posted, using kefir (which I always have on hand), except I used halved grape tomatoes and kalamata olives. I found that when the hot ingredients were added to the dressing, it really thinned out the dressing and made it kind of soupy. I ended up adding about 1/2 cup of feta cheese, which added nice flavor and substance. I had tasted the dressing prior to adding the hot ingredients and found it very bright and flavorful. I really liked the addition of the spinach, and will make this again.
     
  2. So easy and very tasteful
     
  3. This salad is really good! I made exactly as directed, tasted it and decided to add shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano for a little more flavor. The slight saltiness of the cheese really brightened up the flavors. The lemon and dill is fragrant and tastes summery fresh. The kefir was such a nice change from the usual "italian dressing" type salads of which I'm not a fan of. And it was slightly creamy without being mayo-based. Absolutely lovely! <br/><br/>One thing to note: It's really not a make-ahead salad. I made it the day ahead for my party and unfortunately the dressing completely absorbed into the pasta and the flavor became bland. I livened it back up with another batch of fresh dressing and that helped, but it was so good the first time around. Also the spinach became more olive-green in color and it just didn't look as fresh. So... make it when you want to eat it and you'll be happy with the results. Thanks for a wonderful recipe. I'll make again for sure.
     
  4. This is a lovely greek pasta salad. It is easy to prepare and has a very nice flavor. Liked the use of pasta with the flavor of a traditional Greek salad.
     
  5. Just looking through the ingredients I see that I forgot spinach! Oopsy. This salad is right on the spot,even though I was able to eat very little bit. My DDs attacked it and Jenifer actually ate twice from it in one day. The little one was sucking and nibbling on red onion slices ( she'll try anything). I have to remember to make more the next time. I used Recipe #415948 and they added a little bit more flavor.Instead of kefir I used homemade yogurt and even though I really thought of leaving out the dill, I didn't and I'm so glad I didn't because that's what makes this salad. Very refreshing and guilt free as well.Thanks loula for another great recipe.
     
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Tweaks

  1. This was absolutely terrific! I loved the dressing. Can't go wrong with dill and lemon. Of course there was no kefir available here, so I used a Greek yogurt. Instead of two tomatoes I used a pint of grape tomatoes which I cut in half. I also upped the pasta a bit to 5 ounces (3 ounces didn't seem like much for two people), and I think I forgot to add the oil and only used half of a small red onion because my BF isn't fond of raw onions. I used a large handful of dill, as I think the bunches of dill sold in the states are on the large size. Would definitely make this again, the dressing was heavenly. Thanks for the recipe!
     
  2. I had planned to use yogurt also (I have never seen Kifir in this area) but when I opened the carton it was past it's prime and I just bought it on the 19th! So I just used extra virgin olive oil and it was still excellent. I used Italian Herbs in place of the dill. Loved the green olives with the lemon juice and oil. I should also say that I added a quarter of a small green pepper and about 2 ounces of cooked pork roast. It all came together to make a very enjoyable meal.
     
  3. Very tasty! Made as directed except that, like another reviewer, I used a high-quality Greek plain yogurt in place of the kefir. Thanks, Lalaloula! Made for Vegetarian Recipe Swap.
     

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