Every time I take a bite of this salad, I swear I feel like I’m back in Italy sitting at a little cafe next to the Trevi Fountain. It SO reminds me of the food we ate there!! My sweet friend, Jill, used to make this salad for our team when we all taught together. I became OBSESSED with it. We haven’t taught together for a year so I’ve been missing out on the flavors, but when I visited her the other day, she had this waiting for me and I about FELL.OUT. And it’s even better than I remember!!! I immediately made her hand over the recipe and I’m NOT kidding when I tell you that I eat this almost every day. It’s imperative that we keep these ingredients stocked because I love this salad SO much! It’s just perfectly fresh and DELICIOUS!!!
JILL’S TOMATO BASIL PASTA SALAD
1 box bowtie/farfalle pasta
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil {I used Bertolli}
Fresh basil, sliced into small strips
Fresh garlic to taste, pressed/crushed {I used 5 cloves…use as much/little as you prefer}
Grape tomatoes
Feta Cheese {I used Tomato & Basil} OR Fresh Mozzarella, cut into bite sized chunks
Sea salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Toasted almonds {optional}
Cook pasta according to package. Meanwhile, slice the basil into thin strips.
Drain pasta and transfer to large bowl.
Add feta cheese, basil, garlic, and grape tomatoes. When Jill first started bringing the salad to our team lunches, she would make it with fresh mozzarella and it was AMAZING. BUT, I have to say that the tomato & basil feta adds a really yummy flavor. Either way you go, you won’t be disappointed at all!!!!!
Pour in the olive oil and toss to coat. Add sea salt and pepper to taste and stir well to mix.
MANGIA!
You will LOVE the freshness of this little salad. It’s perfect on it’s own or as a side dish to a yummy sandwich!!! It’s downright to-die-for…especially if you love olive oil as much as I do :)
"mangia" is something said around our family kitchen and has been for years! Being 50% sicilian, it's something I've known since I was about 2 years old...so cute and that recipe looks AMAZING! Thanks for sharing! i am making your cream cheese crock pot chicken tonight, so here's to hoping I make it just right :)
ReplyDeleteI know this is an old post, but I just found your blog & can't stop going through all posts! :o)
ReplyDeleteI make a similar recipe, but I add lemon juice with the olive oil, and I use canned tomatoes, drained...I love cooked tomatoes, just not raw...weird, I know. lol
And I use the mozzarella. YUM!! Hubs likes to add some balsamic vinegar to his.
Instead of feta or mozerella, we make this with chevre. YUM.
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