Summer is in full swing. I know summer has arrived when the temperature at my office is adjusted to the coldest levels, people all around are wearing short sleeve shirts and pretty florals, and pesky mosquitoes seem to find their way to me. Even with spraying on tons of bug repellent, I can’t seem to hide from mosquitoes. When it comes to the frigid temperatures at my office, I always wear a cardigan or bring along a sweater because I always end up getting cold an hour into the work day. Over the weekend, I even started to take out all of my summer clothes (shirts, shorts, and swimsuits). The warmer weather has even encouraged me to cook lighter meals (featuring tons of colors), eat healthier, and hit the gym more often. The first two goals are easier to accomplish than the last, but I still try my absolute best to squeeze in more exercise over the summer. One of my favorite dishes to make during the summer months is pasta salad. Pasta salad is super easy to prepare, quick to assemble, and tastes amazing after chilling in the refrigerator for anywhere from half an hour to a few hours. I sometimes get impatient and serve myself a scoop or two of pasta salad after only letting it chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. If you have the will power, definitely let the pasta salad chill for a few hours to develop the best flavor. Instead of my usual pasta salad with Italian dressing, I simplified the pasta salad to just cherry tomatoes, and thinly sliced fresh basil. The dressing for the pasta salad was also simplified to only five ingredients – olive oil, vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. The only real cooking involved is cooking the tricolor penne pasta just shy of al dente. Once ready, the pasta is drained, tossed in a large bowl with tomatoes, basil, and a simple red wine vinaigrette. The entire bowl is then transferred over to the refrigerator to chill for a few hours. The chilling time not only cools the pasta salad, but also gives the pasta salad time to develop all of its flavors. Pasta salad is one of those dishes where the longer it sits, the better it gets. The red wine vinaigrette seeps into the tomatoes and adds a delicious tanginess to the already sweet cherry tomatoes. The pasta salad is also stunning to look at and makes for a great summer picnic salad. I did end up packing some leftover pasta salad to bring to work for lunch throughout the week. With this super easy to whip together meal, I have freed up some time to go for stroll in nature and practice taking photos for class. I just need to lather on some more bug spray and watch out for mosquitoes.
Tomato Basil Pasta Salad:
For the pasta salad:
· 4 quarts of water
· 2 teaspoons kosher salt
· 1 package (16 ounce) tricolor penne pasta
· 15 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
· 6 sprigs fresh basil, chiffonade
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
For the red wine vinaigrette:
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
· ¼ cup red wine vinegar
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Directions:
1) Bring four quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Once water begins to boil, add the two teaspoons of kosher salt. Pour in the box of penne pasta. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pasta package.
2) In a large bowl, combine the halved or quartered cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced fresh basil. Toss in ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Set aside.
3) Prepare the dressing by combining the oils, vinegar, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Stir to combine all ingredients. Set aside.
4) Once the pasta is cooked a minute shy of al dente, drain the pasta. Add the pasta directly to the large bowl with the tomatoes and basil. Pour in the dressing. Toss all of the ingredients to combine with the dressing.
5) Cover the large bowl with plastic wrap. Chill for 3-5 hours before serving. If you can’t resist, chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Takeaways: You can further dress up the pasta salad by adding some diced fresh mozzarella cheese, and/or rainbow cherry tomatoes. For another variation of pasta salad, check out my pasta salad with Italian dressing.