Food & Cooking Recipes Salad Recipes Orecchiette, Celery, and Olive Salad With Ricotta Salata This pasta salad makes a delicious side or light lunch. Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 40 mins Servings: 6 to 8 Jump to recipe Our orecchiette pasta salad features a crunchy, briny mixture of chopped celery, fennel, olives, and ricotta salata, tossed in a tangy red-wine vinaigrette. A can of chickpeas adds a boost of filling protein, making this pasta salad just as suitable for a light lunch as for a hearty side dish. After cooking the pasta, you’ll toss it with some of the dressing while it’s still warm, which will help it absorb the flavor and stay nice and moist. A final addition of nutty-salty Parmesan cheese and chopped celery leaves brings the whole thing together. The best part? It can be made up to one day ahead of serving, making it perfect for potlucks, picnics, and lazy days alike. Our Absolute Favorite Pasta Salad Recipes Credit: Ren Fuller Key Components for Pasta Salad The pasta: While elbows and penne tend to get all of the pasta salad glory, we love using cup-shaped orecchiette for pasta salad. The "little ears," as they're known as in Italian, perfectly capture morsels of cheese and vegetables, not to mention the delicious, garlic-spiked vinaigrette in this recipe. Be sure to boil the noodles for the longest cooking time listed on the package, since they won't continue to cook in piping-hot sauce as they would in warm dishes. The vegetables: For texture, we use celery and fennel, which bring interesting flavors in addition to big crunch. Hang onto the celery leaves, which will add a slightly bitter finished touch which offsets some of the saltier notes of the salad. The dressing: No mayo here, a mixture of red-wine vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice forms the base of the tangy vinaigrette. Garlic and oregano, meanwhile, add a welcome, flavorful kick. The cheeses: This salad features salty, crumbly ricotta salata and nutty, fluffy Parmesan. Together, they add a touch of richness to this vegetable-forward recipe. The olives: We use mild, buttery castelvetrano olives—and a touch of their brine—for a subtle, briny pop in this pasta salad recipe. Free to swap in another type of olive like Kalamata or even a more acidic option like capers instead, or leave them out all together. Make Ahead You can make this salad up to one day ahead of time, but wait to add the celery leaves and Parmesan until you're ready to serve. Be sure to let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the pasta to warm up slightly—the noodles can be unappealingly firm straight from the fridge. Directions Make vinaigrette: Using the side of a chef's knife, mash garlic with 1 teaspoon salt into a paste. Transfer to a small bowl; whisk in lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, and oil. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook pasta; toss with half of dressing: Cook pasta in generously salted water according to package directions until cooked all the way through. Drain (but don't rinse, which would waterlog the noodles), then spread on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with half of vinaigrette. Let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and toss well: Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss fennel, olives and brine, chickpeas, ricotta salata, and celery with remaining vinaigrette. Add pasta; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with Parmigiano-Reggiano and celery leaves; serve. Five More Pasta Salad Recipes to Try: Marinated-Artichoke and Green-Bean Pasta Salad Pasta Salad With Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Chickpeas Tuna Macaroni Salad Pasta Salad With Roasted Broccoli Pasta Salad With Chickpeas, Green Beans, and Basil Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.