Pasta Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes

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Pasta Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes

August 15, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Pasta Salad with sun-dried tomatoes

I was looking for a good Pasta Salad to serve for the “BurleyMen Club” 🙂 aka Artist Blacksmith Group of Tidewater for their monthly meeting held at Gentile Forge. I came across this Pasta Salad and thought it sounded super delicious. Sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamate olives, what a winning combination. And it was delicious!….but….I’m now thinking that it might have been the wrong type of food to serve for all those MEN. Don’t get me wrong, they liked it, but the wrong type of food nonetheless. The sun-dried tomatoes may have been too refined, too delicate and too modern. This Pasta Salad would fit-in much better at my work with all the GIRLS there. I’ll try it out there for our next potluck.

Sun-dried Tomato Dressing

If your not able to find pitted olives use a Cherry Pitter, it works great.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

Dressing:

7 oz Sun-dried Tomatoes in oil, drained

2 small or 1 large Garlic Clove

3 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Salad:

8 oz Spiral Pasta

20 Kalamata Olives (a good handful), sliced or chopped

1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, cut in halves

10 Basil leaves, julienned

1 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

Directions:

In a food processor combine sun-dried tomatoes (drained), garlic, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Start the food processor and add the olive oil in a steady stream. Continue blending until a homogeneous mass. Store in an airtight container for 1-3 hours or preferably until the following day to allow flavors to marry. Note: this dressing recipe makes enough for 2 pasta salads.

Cook pasta in salted water until desired consistency, rinse under cold running water and drain. Add about 1/4 of dressing to pasta and stir. Add cherry tomatoes, olives, Basil and about 2/3 cup Parmesan, stir gently. Continue to add more dressing and Parmesan cheese to your liking. Note: reserve a small amount of Parmesan for topping. Enjoy.

Source: adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Posted in Appetizers, pasta, Quick and Easy, Salad, Side dish | Tagged ABGT, blacksmith, forge, gentile, jganvil, kalamata, olives, parmesan, pasta, salad, sun-dried, tomatoes | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on August 22, 2011 at 17:27 Julie M.

Such a beautiful summer salad! I could take a bowl of this any day. 🙂
on August 18, 2011 at 17:25 Christina

Yummy! This sounds like a wonderful summer pasta salad. I love sun dried tomatoes. 🙂
on August 17, 2011 at 19:00 Vince

The “Burley Man’s Club” AKA ABGT appreciated the delicious aroma and delicate taste of the seasonings and the greek olives. Delicious! Thanks!!!!!
- on August 17, 2011 at 19:02 mydanishkitchen
  
  Awwww thank you so much Vince 🙂
on August 17, 2011 at 15:40 blackbookkitchendiaries

how pretty is this?? it looks awesome. love the pretty colors in here:) thank you for sharing this.
on August 17, 2011 at 08:40 Claudie

I think it’s always funny how men can sometimes prefer the most basic food rather than an elevated dish 🙂 In any case, I really love the way your pasta looks — vibrant and colorful — and I believe it must have been really delicious.
on August 16, 2011 at 08:17 Tes

Oh what a beautiful dish of pasta 🙂 It looks so fresh and comforting 🙂
on August 16, 2011 at 07:45 Elyse @The Cultural Dish

This looks so fresh and delicious!
on August 15, 2011 at 21:34 torviewtoronto

summery pasta looks wonderful
on August 15, 2011 at 17:56 polwig

I have that problem all the time, spoiled family. My vegetarian daughter would love it 😉
on August 15, 2011 at 14:55 Eileen Enke

Looks yummy! I make a similar salad using orzo instead of pasta, the oil from the sundried tomatoes in the dressing, and crumbled feta cheese. How true: it’s more of a ladies dish–I could eat it as a main course but hubby wants m-e-a-t, too.
- on August 15, 2011 at 19:48 mydanishkitchen
  
  I have to try it with Orzo, sounds great!!!
on August 15, 2011 at 09:44 Tina@flourtrader

Overall, I think women eat better than men. Most men are just into meat & potatoes, you rarely see them eating yogurt or salad. Glad you changed things up for those men and they enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing this lovely pasta dish.
on August 15, 2011 at 08:12 janet@fromcupcakestocaviar

Love the idea of this dressing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one with the pureed sun dried tomatoes. Cool!
on August 15, 2011 at 07:49 Liz

Mmmmmm….this sounds so yummy and flavorful! Beautiful pasta salad~