Summer Garden Orecchietti Salad

Summer garden season is my favorite time to enjoy this pasta salad made with cherry tomatoes and herbs from the garden, along with olives and mozzarella cheese.  It's fresh, light, and whips together quickly so you can get back outside and enjoy the day!

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 C (dried) Orecchiette pasta
• 1 C Cherry Tomatoes halved
• 1/2 C Pitted Kalamata Olives halved
• 3 Sticks Mozzarella String Cheese (or 3 oz) cut in 1/4" rounds
• 1/4 C Shredded Parmesan, Reggiano or Asiago Cheese
• Fresh Parsley chopped
• Fresh Chives chopped
• Fresh Basil chopped

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 C Olive Oil
• 1/4 C Sunflower or Other Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
• 3/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook pasta to al dente per box instructions.  Drain and rinse under cold water to cool then drain well.  Combine all the salad ingredients.  In a separate bowl whisk all the dressing ingredients until blended then combine with the pasta salad. 

Notes and Alterations:  

What I love about this salad is the versatility.  You can add more or less "mixins" (the olives, cheese, tomatoes and herbs) depending on your taste.  Cut down the amount of mixins if you want it to be very pasta-forward.  Increase the quantities if you want it to be a caprese style summer salad that just happens to include pasta.  In this version, the quantities create about a 50/50 balance that I think is a good starting point for you to modify from there.

The Oil:  Typical recipes call for only using olive oil instead of splitting between olive and sunflower oil.  The problem is olive oil solidifies when chilled.  If you use only olive oil, you'll want to bring the salad to room temperature before serving.  In our house, we tend to pull salads out of the fridge, grab a fork and pick at them over the sink, so I prefer an oil that remains soluble when cold.  I've learned that substituting cold salad recipes with 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 vegetable oil gives me the best of both worlds.

  

The Olives:  If you don't like the brininess of kalamata olives, I've also made this with whole extra- large black olives, halved.  It produces a milder overall flavor and is very good.  I think any pitted olive would work well in this salad, to be honest.

The Cheese:  I use string cheese sticks in this recipe, simply for the simplicity.  They're so easy to unwrap, cut in rounds and toss in the salad.  But you could easily use any form of mozzarella cheese cut to roughly the same size.  Uniformity in the size of the olives, cheese, tomatoes and pasta is what matters.  So I'd encourage you to use the cheese you like best.  

This was also the first time I've added shredded parmesan to the salad, simply because I had it in the fridge and decided to toss it in.  It will honestly be a keeper from now on, as I loved the additional sharpness the parmesan added.  But for a couple years, I made this salad without the parmesan and it was still great.

The Herbs:  The amount of herbs you use is entirely up to taste.  In the version pictured, these are the herbs I used, stems removed and chopped.  I am guessing they came to about 1/4 cup in total.  I've also included fresh oregano when I've had it, as well as thyme.  It's really up to your preference.  And yes, in winter months, I have made this salad using store-bought fresh parsley and chives then added dried Italian Herb Seasoning.  It's still a great salad, but greatly improved with using 100% fresh herbs.

The Seasoning:  I use prefer sea salt or course Himalayan salt in this recipe.  It enhances the flavor without making it more "salty".  Kosher salt would be a second choice, the last being table salt.  But really, depending on the olives used, salt could be omitted entirely given there's already salt in the Dijon, brine in the olives and parmesan is a salty cheese.  So given that, I'd recommend starting light no matter what salt you use, then adding to suit your taste.

But of course, pepper is pepper and freshly ground is the king!

Other Ideas:  I've often considered adding 1/2 cup of walnut or pecan halves to this recipe.  I tend to like salads that have a lot of "stuff" in them, but hubby isn't quite the "nut nut" I am.  But I'd encourage you to play around with it and try adding anything you think might be fun.  And if you do, PLEASE comment and let me know!  I'd love to hear ideas!!