BB: Pasta with sundried tomatoes

I'm a little (ok, a lot) late on my Barefoot Bloggers recipes this week, but here was the first recipe from July: Pasta with sundried tomatoes. At first I thought it was a warm pasta dish, but as I read on, I realized it was more of a pasta salad - and a delicious sounding one! I finally got around to making it and I am so glad I did. Ina does not disappoint with this recipe! I loved the other pasta salad we've done - pesto, pasta, and peas, and this recipe with be another great alternative in my recipe book to the traditional pasta salads.


I found it to be plenty salty as written between the kalamatas and capers, so next time I will cut down the amount of salt in the dressing. Also, I only used 8 ounces of mozarella - there was still plenty to go around!

Pasta with sundried tomatoes
Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style on page 58
Chosen by Cat of Delta Whiskey

Ingredients

* 1/2 pound fusilli (spirals) pasta
* Kosher salt
* Olive oil
* 1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
* 3/4 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
* 1 pound fresh mozzarella, medium-diced (I used about 8 oz)
* 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (I used dried, reconstituted)

For the dressing:

* 5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained (I used dried, reconstituted)
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 6 tablespoons good olive oil
* 1 garlic clove, diced
* 1 teaspoon capers, drained
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
* 1 cup packed basil leaves, julienned

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and toss well.