Tomato & Basil Pasta Salad
Tomato & Basil Pasta Salad
Italians will tell you that pasta is best eaten as soon as it’s cooked, but it’s perfectly fine to make it ahead of time for a cold pasta salad — and you can cook in stages. When you're in the kitchen anyway, put some pasta on to boil. Then use it the next day to make a pasta salad for a picnic dinner, packed lunch, or last-minute meal with friends. Cold pasta salads are also a great alternative to pizza for kids’ parties. The recipe is simple — add a few ingredients of your choice to cooked pasta along with some olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper.
A classic combination of summer tomatoes and fresh basil is fresh and light, and you'll find more variations after the recipes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
Fresh basil
Cherry tomatoes
Penne pasta or pasta of your choice
Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Cook the pasta reducing the cooking time on the package by 1 1/2 to 2 minutes to cook the pasta al dente. Don't rinse the pasta.
Toss the pasta with a lot of fresh basil and cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half (or any other ripe tomatoes).
Toss with olive oil and salt & pepper before serving.
This can be made ahead and stored in the fridge.
You can add just about anything to your pasta salad:
