My Version of Mediterranean Pasta Salad

This salad is one of several different pasta salads I've come up with through the years, and probably my favorite one. It's got it all. Start with a pound of farfalle (otherwise known as bowtie) pasta. Now be forewarned. If you do make a whole pound of pasta, this salad will feed an army. Cook pasta in salted water to al dente, drain, cool completely. You can toss with a little olive oil while it's cooling if you like, to keep it from sticking together.

Now the good stuff. First up, half a pound of pitted Kalamata olives, sliced.


A whole pint of grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes if you like), sliced.


Then a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts. They are usually already sliced, but I slice them in half again. Sometimes even more if it's particularly big.




You will also need a full 9 oz. bag of spinach. I made this before I went to the farmers market so I used the bagged pre-washed spinach.


And then, a 5 oz. container of crumbled Feta cheese.



Now the dressing. This is a very simple Balsamic vinaigrette. The salad is so chock full of flavors you don't need to bog the dressing down with too much. One half cup Balsamic vinegar to one cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This is actually double the amount of dressing I usually make, but this salad is big and needs it. Add salt and pepper to the dressing, to taste. Remember you put olives in this salad so you may not need as much salt as you think.

Mix well and the spinach will start to wilt into the salad.



It's great as a side dish or on it's own. It's fantastic with some grilled chicken added. Feel free to leave out whatever you may not like. If you don't like Feta, try using cubes of mozzarella instead. If you don't like Kalamata's, by all means use an olive you do like. A lemon citronette (lemon juice, Dijon, olive oil) instead of the Balsamic vinaigrette would be delish too. Play with it. It's really really yummy.

A Night Out at Aladdin's

For several weeks now Nick and I have been wanting to go to Aladdin's for dinner. It's not a place we frequent, but a place we really love. Something always comes up and we have ended up not going. But yesterday Nick was determined that come hell or high water, we were going to Aladdin's! And we did.

Aladdin's came into existence in 1994 and has grown by leaps and bounds! Now in seven states and with 28 locations, it still has that local feel to it that we love. As the day went on and anticipation was building, I couldn't wait to get some of their succulent grilled meats and dip it into that insanely good garlic sauce. Oh my... calm down woman.

We went to the Hudson, First and Main location, even though the Highland Square one is closer. This way we can scope out the other restaurants that are there that we may want to try sometime. We were seated right away although there was a pretty good crowd.

To start, Nick had the China Mist Traditional Black Tea and I had the China Mist Green Tea. Both were very good.




We couldn't decide what we wanted for an appetizer. They all sound so good! But we had gotten hummus last time, so we crossed that off. I was leaning towards the, Dawali but once Nick saw the Falaffel, that was that. My husband is a notorious lover of all things chick pea. I forgot to take a pic, but as luck would have it, Aladdin's website had a picture of it and it did look exactly like this.



The falaffel were so incredibly delicious. They are a little fried piece of heaven. Ground chick peas and fava beans, mildly spiced with parsley and lots of garlic. They come with pitas and a yogurt tahini dipping sauce.

I had lamb on my mind so for an entree I chose the Mediterranean Lamb Plate. The marination and the grilling of the meat is to die for. It's juicy and tender, cooked to absolute perfection and it comes with that crazy garlic dipping sauce I mentioned earlier. I absolutely love garlic, but the first time I had that sauce I almost went into orbit! But then I took a second bite, and third and I was hooked! Now it's a must whenever we go to Aladdin's. It also comes with rice. But it's not any old white rice scooped onto your plate with an ice cream scoop! This rice is soft and fluffy, every grain separate. It has crunchy vermicelli in it and is topped with sauteed pine nuts, almonds, and cinnamon. It's so good on its own but I like to add some of my tahini yogurt sauce to it too.




Nick had the Mediterranean Shish Kabob Plate, which is exactly like my lamb plate only his plate has beef instead. Everything else is identical.

The portions are just right. Not too much, not too little and when dinner is over I'm feeling just right. Nick on the other hand, he's a dessert guy. We chose together from the huge dessert menu, thinking that I would have a few bites, but when that mouth watering Brownie Cheesecake arrived, I was just too full to partake. Nick assures me it was heavenly!




So another wonderful meal at the fabulous Mediterranean restaurant Aladdin's. If you have on in your area, give it a shot! You won't be disappointed.