Pasta Salad
This is a simple, non-mayonnaise based, pasta salad. It is perfect for a picnic, a lunch, or a side dish, served warm or chilled. Originally served as part of A Simple Sunday.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces dried tri-color rotini pasta
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 20 medium grape tomatoes
- salt & pepper
- 2 tablespoons italian flat leaf parsley (cleaned and chopped)
- 10 small leaves fresh basil (cleaned)
Instructions
We start by heating a large pot of water for the pasta. In a small glass prep bowl, we combine the garlic and olive oil. We cook in the microwave for 30 seconds to infuse the garlic flavor into the oil. We set aside while we prepare the tomato salad.
We rinse and pat dry the tomatoes. We cut off and discard the small stem end, and then halve the smaller grape tomatoes and cut the larger ones into 3 or 4 pieces. We place them in a bowl and sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper.
When the pot of water is boiling, we add salt and the dried pasta. We stir and cook according to the package directions.
Before we drain the cooked pasta, we remove ΒΌ cup of the pasta cooking liquid. We drain and add the pasta back to the pot. We add the garlic and olive oil, the cooking liquid, and the cut-up tomatoes. We toss in the parsley and tear the basil into the pasta. We stir and taste for seasoning.
We serve the pasta warm or chilled.