Simple Pasta Salad......Delicious!

OK, I love pasta salad and this is a good pasta salad recipe. I make different versions of this recipe by the adding and subtracting of ingredients but always leave the dressing the same. For example, I will use roasted red peppers instead of green ones. I leave out the carrots an add quartered up artichokes, finely dice a red chile pepper and add it to the salad. The tuna is wonderful in this dish, and I really like making it with the shells because they seem to gobble up the ingredients and each shell is a great little bite.

Now for the mayonnaise question! I'm sure most people will ask (if your not from the south) what is Duke's mayonnaise? Well its the only mayonnaise. Living up north I would buy the next best thing, Hellmann's and anytime I would visit family or friends down south I would load up on the Duke's. It is just a wonderful mayo, I think it has a little more lemon in it than the others. Anyway if you ever get the chance to try it, you will love it!
This is a really good side dish for any BBQ or picnic, so hurry up and have another one before summer fades away. Enjoy..........

16 oz box medium shell pasta, cooked 

1 can tuna packed in olive oil, drained

1 cup Dukes or Hellmann's mayo

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

1/4 cup pitted calamata olives cut in half, optional
4 oz feta cheese crumbled
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup coarsely grated carrot
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 hard cooked egg sliced for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, mix mayo, vinegar, mustard, honey,  pepper, salt, basil and mix dressing until smooth. Add pasta, tuna, olives, feta, celery, green pepper, carrot and onion. Toss all together mixing well and let sit in the refrigerator overnight so flavors can meld. When serving sprinkle with some good smoked paprika and top with sliced hard cooked eggs. Serve at once.