I’m not sure why I chose the title “End of Summer Pasta Salad.” Maybe it’s because the stores are selling school supplies up and down the aisles and the beaches seem to be a bit less crowded. It’s certainly not because there’s much change in the weather here in Hawaii. Here is our nightly weather forecast: “Expect mostly sunny days with a few passing showers in the mauka (mountain) areas, high temperatures in the mid 80s.” Maybe I should call it Endless Summer Pasta Salad.
In the past I bought the crumbled feta you commonly find in most refrigerated grocery shelves not knowing any better until I read Cook’s Illustrated review on feta cheese. Mt. Vikos was rated well and I was able to find it at our local health food store. What a difference. This feta is made from sheep and goat’s milk and is not overly salty yet very flavorful.
All kinds of ingredients can be added to a pasta salad. Sometimes I’ll use small white beans, marinated artichoke hearts, broccoli florets or fresh corn. Today I used conchiglie pasta (shells), grape tomatoes, olives, lite salami, feta, spinach and basil. Other pasta shapes work well such as farfalle (bow tie), fusilli (corkscrew), rotini (spirals). The shells are rather attractive, the olives and tomatoes are nearly the same size as the pasta and all the tasty ingredients find their way into the nooks and crannies of the pasta. Those beautiful green olives are Castelvetrano Sicilian olives that are buttery and assertive without being bitter. They add a distinctive flavor to the pasta salad. You can find them at the olive bar at Whole Foods, pitted or not.
After you drain your pasta, place a couple of paper towels in a large, wide bowl and pour the pasta in the bowl. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and the paper towels will soak up the excess water. Giving it a shake or two also helps to dry the pasta.
Toss your pasta ingredients in a large bowl with fresh herb vinaigrette. Add the spinach just before serving the salad.
End of Summer Pasta Salad
The measurements for the pasta, tomatoes and olives can be adjusted to your liking. If you want to prepare a smaller portion use just two cups of uncooked pasta and fewer tomatoes and olives. The fresh basil, feta and herb vinaigrette really add that je ne sais quoi to the salad.
Ingredients
3 cups uncooked pasta
20 grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup olives, halved
salami cut into thin strips
feta cheese, crumbled
fresh basil, julienned
baby spinach leaves
Preparation
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water for the suggested cooking time noted on the box.
Drain pasta, run under cool water to stop the cooking. Place a few paper towels on the bottom of a large, wide bowl. Pour your well-drained pasta into the bowl and let the paper towels absorb the excess water. Set aside while you prepare the salad ingredients.
Slice the tomatoes and olives in half and cut the salami into thin strips, about 1 inch in length. Crumble the feta cheese and julienne the basil leaves.
Remove the paper towels from the bowl and season the pasta well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the tomatoes, olives, salami, feta and basil. Give everything a quick stir, then add your vinaigrette by the tablespoonful until the salad is nicely dressed. Just before serving, toss in the spinach leaves and give the salad one more quick stir adding more salt and pepper if necessary.
Leftover pasta salad keeps well in the refrigerator for a day or so. The pasta will absorb most of the dressing so you might choose to add just a little more the next day. If I’m not serving the entire salad at one time, I’ll add just enough spinach for that portion and add more as I eat my way through the entire bowl. Molto delizioso!
Looks so yummy. I can’t wait to try it with your dressing.
Mahalo Teresa! I hope you have the chance to try the dressing. It works great on potato salad too.