Blistered Cherry Tomato and Basil Pasta Salad
This recipe for a Summer Pasta Salad with fresh cherry tomato sauce, basil and kalamata olives comes together in under 30 minutes for a delicious pasta salad that you and your kids will love! This recipe is also naturally vegan and can easily be made gluten-free.
Welcome to my most enjoyed and beloved summer recipe! Blistered Cherry Tomato and Fresh Basil Pasta Salad!
This pasta salad is seriously a winner. It’s loaded with the juiciest vine ripened tomatoes from my favorite produce by @SunsetGrown! I am thrilled to be partnering with them again as each batch of tomatoes are filled to the brim and come in an array of colors, sizes and are just bursting with the sweetest flavor! And I have a special trick that I always do whenever I’m incorporating tomatoes as the main sauce for the dish…I sauté them with a little olive oil and wait till the skin of the tomato blisters, softens and releases all the delicious juices! There is nothing quite like a fresh tomato sauce, and as a big bonus…this sauce takes under 10 minutes to cook up! How perfect is that?!
And I would be remised if I didn’t mention how utterly versatile this pasta salad is. You can cook up a huge batch for dinner and then pack it away for your lunch, your kid's lunch or for some midday snacking! My sister has been making this pasta salad for her 2 year old daughter and she LOVES it. You could even add in any additional veggies or flavors that your kids love! The tomato sauce creates a beautiful base for tossing in any extra goodies :)
Enjoy!
xx Marie
A Big Thank You To Sunset For Partnering With Us On This Delicious Recipe! Your Support Means The World And I’m So Glad We’re Able To Showcase Just How Delicious Your Veggies Are All Year Long!
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes
3 cups @SunsetGrown Wild Wonders Cherries, halved
1 @SunsetGrown Aloha Pepper, roughly chopped into bite size pieces
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
Sea salt
1/2 pound pasta - I like using Fusilli/corkscrew style
1/3 cup kalamata or castelvetrano olives, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 watermelon radish, thinly sliced
Juice of 1 small lemon and zest of 1/2 that lemon
2 handfuls of toasted pumpkin seeds
Optional cheese/vegan cheese - 2 handfuls feta, goat or mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
Start by warming 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Now toss in 2.5 cups of the Wild Wonder tomatoes (reserve the last half cup for topping) and the Aloha pepper. Sauté and stir until the skin of the tomatoes blister and release their juices, about 5-7 minutes.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a roaring boil (about 1 tbsp salt). Add in the pasta and cook according to the instructions on the box.
Before you drain your pasta, reserve 2 tbsp of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and then immediately toss it in a large mixing bowl with the reserved pasta water and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Mix well because this is what helps the pasta noodles to not stick together. Toss in the remaining ingredients to the pasta including the blistered tomatoes (and all it’s juices!), last tbsp of olive oil and the last 1/2 cup of fresh tomato slices. Mix well. Taste the pasta salad and see if you’d like to add in more lemon juice, basil, sea salt, cheese, etc. Store in the fridge and enjoy cold as a pasta salad! Enjoy!
