pasta salad

pasta salad – yes pasta in salads, this is how at home we like our pastas to be.

the soft cooked pasta with crunchy veggies is always looked forward when i make pasta or salads.

this recipe is jamie oliver’s recipe and he calls it the best pasta salad. i agree. it is one of the best pasta salads I have made and served. have adapted the recipe from jamie oliver’s website here.

this is the first jamie oliver recipe, i tried and it was so good that now i have decided to buy jamie oliver’s cookbooks. i am an avid reader of books (cooking & philosophical) and just one recipe is enough to convince me that the other recipes will also be good.

when i was reading the recipe, what i liked the most was boiling the garlic with pasta and then mashing it and adding to the dressing. the mashed garlic does add a lot of flavor to the pasta.

i made some adaptations like adding balsamic vinegar and using some more herbs. i did not have ingredients like red & yellow cherry tomatoes, so added regular tomatoes.

if possible use smaller shell shaped pasta. i had whole wheat pasta rigatoni (tube shaped pasta) and i felt that they were a bit large for the salad…. but nobody complained thankfully.

since i wanted more crunch, i added some onions & lastly garnished the pasta with pomegranate arils.

if you have fresh herbs, then use those and if you have dry herbs, then add that

so if you love pasta and if you love salads, then do make this pasta salad recipe. its a simple and easy pasta salad recipe and makes for a quick brunch or meals in between.

the pasta salad can also be served as a starter (warm or chilled) when you prepare an italian menu.

pasta salad

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Author: dassana

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 125 gms shell shaped pasta or pasta rigatoni (whole wheat or all purpose flour pasta)
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion (optional)
• 1 medium size tomato, chopped
• 1 small cucumber, chopped
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp herbes de provence
• 1 tsp dry basil or ¼ cup chopped basil
• ½ tsp dry oregano
• ½ or 1 tbsp chives
• 9-10 pitted black olives, sliced
• ½ tsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
• salt and pepper as required

Instructions

1. heat enough water with some salt.
2. when the water starts boiling, add the pasta along with the garlic clove
3. cook the pasta till they are done.
4. drain.
5. to avoid the pasta from sticking to each other, add some oil and stir gently.
6. in a salad bowl, add all the veggies and herbs.
7. add the pasta and toss.
8. take the cooked garlic clove and mash it in a mortar & pestle.
9. to this add the olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper.
10. stir the seasoning and add it to the pasta.
11. toss and serve garnished with some pomegranate arils.

Notes

you can increase or decrease the quantity of herbs as per your preference.

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