Memorable Quotes:

"A Bearnaise sauce is simply an egg yolk, a shallot, a little tarragon vinegar and butter, but it takes years of practice for the result to be perfect." Fernand Point

Balsamic Summer Pasta Salad

A colorful pasta salad with fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, red onion, cheese and toasted pine nuts, tossed with a simple balsamic vinaigrette. It's an easy make-ahead side dish that's especially good for picnics and summer meals.



Servings: About 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: About 10 minutes

Salad

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces pasta of choice
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • ½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and sliced
  • ½ cup sliced Kalamata olives
  • ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
    or shredded mozzarella, as you used
  • ½ red onion, finely diced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup, optional (you omitted this)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, optional
  • 1–2 garlic cloves, finely minced, optional

Instructions:

  1. Cook the pasta according to package directions until tender. Drain well and allow to cool.
  2. While the pasta cools, prepare the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, red onion and parsley.
  3. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup if using, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic.
  4. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium to medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until lightly golden. Immediately transfer them to a plate to cool.
  5. Combine the cooled pasta, cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, cheese, red onion, parsley and toasted pine nuts in a large bowl.
  6. Pour the balsamic vinaigrette over the salad and toss until everything is evenly coated.
  7. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
  8. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tip: Pine nuts can burn very quickly. Toast them over medium or medium-low heat and remove them from the hot skillet as soon as they're golden.

Greg's Note: I substituted shredded mozzarella for the feta and omitted the maple syrup from the vinaigrette.

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