I love pasta salad. I mean I really love pasta salad. Invite me to your house during the summer and ask me to bring food, and I will almost certainly show up with pasta salad in tow. Although I have a pretty standard pasta salad I make for those occasions, I also like to sometimes shake things up a bit. This is my “I have so many cherry tomatoes, let’s shake things up a bit” pasta salad.
The key to this pasta salad is the cherry tomatoes. You have to have a lot of fresh, as good as you can get cherry tomatoes. Any variety will work. I also used green beans from my garden, but any summer veggie would work well.
The balsamic is also key, and as you can see in the recipe below, I use a pretty even amount of balsamic and olive oil. I used a standard grocery store balsamic vinegar. If you have a nicer, thicker balsamic, definitely use it! You just might not need as much. Adjust accordingly.
As for the blue cheese – I can hear that blue cheese haters out there. Sure, if you really hate it, use feta or goat cheese. I won’t judge. But oh it’s so good with blue cheese! Any type of blue cheese works, and if you can get gorgonzola, even better.
And my last note: take the time to quickly pickle the red onion. You won’t regret it.
A pasta salad for peak cherry tomato season. Add more veggies if you wish, but definitely add as many tomatoes as you can. The pickled red onions: Thinly slice about half of a red onion and place it in a bowl. Pour enough apple cider vinegar in so that the onions are almost covered. Add a little bit of water to finish covering the onions, a pinch of sugar, and a pinch of salt. Stir a little and let sit for at least 10 minutes. The dressing: Combine ¼ of balsamic vinegar and a ¼ of olive oil in a small jar or bowl. Add the oregano leaves, the grated garlic, and a pinch of salt. Whisk the ingredients or shake them in the jar until incorporated. Set aside. The pasta: Cook the pasta according to the time on the package. Add the green beans during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Once al dente, drain the pasta and beans and place in a large serving bowl. Pour about half of the dressing on the hot pasta and mix. The hot pasta will absorb the dressing better than cold pasta. Set the pasta aside to cool down. The tomatoes: Cut the cherry tomatoes either in half or in quarters and add to a mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add the olives. You can chop these or leave them whole. Add the basil. Set aside. Putting everything together: I recommend waiting until the pasta has cooled down to at least room temperature before adding the tomatoes, otherwise the hot pasta will cook the tomatoes a little. Once the pasta is cool enough, dump the tomatoes and olives on top and the rest of the dressing. Chop the pickled red onion into smaller pieces and add to the salad as well. Stir everything to combine. Toss desired amount of blue cheese on and give the salad another gentle toss. Taste and see if it needs anything. More vinegar? More herbs? More salt? Add until the flavors have combined to your liking. Enjoy! If making ahead, I recommend letting the salad sit out at room temperature at least 15 minutes before serving. Add the tomatoes and basil right before serving and make a little extra dressing. I find that the pasta dries out in the fridge a little and usually needs a little extra dressing the next day. Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Balsamic, and Blue Cheese
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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