Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta for a Crowd
When I want something different to take to a party, I almost always turn to Ina Garten for help. Her recipes are so spot on that you don’t have to try them out before taking them to a party or serving them to guests. They work the first time you make them and every single time thereafter. So when I was asked to bring a BIG pasta salad to a neighborhood barbecue, I started with The Barefoot Contessa Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad and added to it and tweaked it until it was just perfect for my friends.
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta for a Crowd
Author: Rocky Mountain Woman
Ingredients
- 1½ lb of fusilli
- kosher salt
- pepper from the mill
- 2 lb of tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup black olives, sliced
- 1 lb of fresh mozarella, diced
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes, drained and diced
- 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan
- 1½ cups basil, cut in julienne
- Dressing:
- 7 sun dried tomatoes, drained
- 4 T red wine vinegar
- ½ c olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 t capers
- salt and pepper from the mill to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to directions on box
- Drain well and let cool
- Place pasta in a large bowl, add tomatoes, olives, mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes
- Place ingredients for dressing in food processor and process until almost smooth
- Drizzle on the salad and toss
There weren’t any leftovers, but if there had been, I could see this being a tasty summer dinner with a glass of Rose’ or a nice lunch without the Rose’ – actually WITH the Rose’, summer won’t last forever so we need to extract every little bit of fun we can and sometimes that means a glass of wine with lunch!
XXOO,
RMW
Sounds perfect for a summer evening.
Great – I only have one recipe with sundried tomatoes (which may be yours:) ) Haven’t been here in a long time, because since Feb. I host a meme called SEASONS every Sunday through Wednesday.
And last week I moved blogs (from JeshStGermain.com to http://artworksfromJeshStG.wordpress.com because I ran out of space! Hope you are doing well. I miss our chats:)
I have never been disappointed by one of Ina Garten’s recipes. This one looks perfect for those impromptu summertime backyard events!
Pondside,
It was a hit!
XXOO,
RMW
I simply love pasta salads (I wish my kids did)…and make one similar to yours, except I LOVE your dressing. The flavors must be wonderful! Capers are a clever idea too…will be trying this!
Hi Barbara,
The capers really set it off.
XXOO,
RMW