Summer pasta salad with tomato vinaigrette recipe
Whole grated tomato, olive oil and lemon juice = a simple and tasty vinaigrette.
Pasta salad has made a comeback in recent years. I remember making it for a salad bar in one of my first chef jobs about 20 years ago. Sun-dried tomatoes, black olives and feta were the key ingredients. I focused on similar additions in this salad, including fresh tomatoes – being in season after all.
The simple and flavorful dressing uses a whole grated tomato combined with olive oil and lemon juice to perfectly complement the other ingredients.
Feel free to liven up the salad with other additions such as sun-dried tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes, grilled zucchini slices, swap the feta for grilled halloumi cubes or add grilled seeds for extra flavor. crisp.
LEARN MORE:
* Watermelon salad
* Recipes: Harvest ratatouille with basil oil and grilled polenta
* Recipe: Roasted Eggplant, Tomato & Feta Salad
Pasta salad with tomato sauce
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes (15 minutes for gluten-free pasta)
Serves: 6-8 as a team
Ingredients
200 g (about 1 ½ cups) penne or fusilli pasta (spiral) (can be used gluten-free)
1 teaspoon salt + extra for seasoning
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium tomato, about 150g
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
A squeezed lemon, to taste
Cracked pepper
½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
About 200g cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
150 g crumbled feta
½ cup pitted olives – kalamata or green, halved
1 handful of coarsely chopped basil leaves
Method
First cook the pasta. In a saucepan, bring 2 to 3 liters of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to boiling water, then the pasta.
Cook on a rapid boil – this will prevent the pasta from sticking together – until the pasta is tender. About 8 minutes for wheat pasta or 15 minutes for gluten-free pasta.
Drain in a colander and rinse immediately under cold water. Drizzle with a little olive oil, mix. Let cool completely.
Grate the medium-sized tomato directly into a large salad bowl. You may need to nick the skin with the tip of a knife to catch the holes in the grater to begin grating. The goal here is that when you grate, the skin peels off the outside of the grater (in your hand) and the flesh turns to pulp in the bowl. Compost the skin.
To the tomato pulp, add the remaining olive oil, as well as lemon juice and seasoning to taste. The amount of lemon juice needed will depend on the sharpness of the tomato used, so use your judgment to bring a balance of flavor to the tomato vinaigrette.
Add the red onion to the dressing to soften while preparing the rest of the ingredients, adding to the salad bowl as you go.
Finally add the cooled pasta and mix. Salad can be made ahead, covered and refrigerated until ready to serve. Also ideal the next day for school or work lunches.