Ugly Pasta Salad

Total Time: 20 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 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

Recipe

• 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.