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Orecchiette Salad with Fresh Basil and Capers

Orecchiette Salad with Fresh Basil and Capers

Wow, I don’t have my heat sea legs under me quite yet. But it’s not my fault. Today it’s 90 degrees, and last week it was in the 40’s.

That’s a big jump.

And now it’s definitely pasta salad weather.

Looking in the fridge (or what I like to call the “facial-air conditioning unit”) I noticed that we had basil and a big jar of capers.

A Mediterranean-style salad it would be!

So with a full box of orecchiette in hand and a few fresh ingredients, I made this salad to keep us cool until saner temperatures have the good sense to reappear.

Orecchiette Salad with Fresh Basil and Capers

Ingredients:
1 box of orecchiette pasta
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ of a wedge of parmesan, diced
½ medium red onion, diced
½ cup of basil, chopped
1/3 cup of green olives, quartered
2 tablespoons of capers
¼ cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
2 teaspoons of dried basil
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
½ teaspoon of onion powder
Black pepper

Instructions:
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta, and run under cold water while it’s still in the colander. Let it drain while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a large bowl combine the cooked orecchiette with the tomatoes, parmesan, onion, basil, olives and capers. Mix the olive oil, vinegar, dijon, basil, oregano and onion powder together with black pepper. Pour over the salad and stir well to combine. Refrigerate for an hour to let the flavors meld.

Note: You may need to make a smaller batch of the vinaigrette to re-dress the salad with the next day. The pasta tends to absorb a decent amount of the mixture overnight.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Photos by Launie Kettler

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