vorace.: Deep Creek Pasta Salad

You might be wondering about the name of this dish. My boyfriend's friend, Kacy, was getting married in Deep Creek, MD. It's a popular recreation spot in the area, boasting mountain views and peace of mind. He and a group of friends rented a house for the weekend and everyone was pitching in for a Friday night dinner barbeque. Most things had already been signed up for so he suggested "we" make a pasta salad. He knows me too well. I have a weakness for pasta salads, as you may recall.

I had a really busy night the evening before we were leaving - my mom came to dinner, I had to pack, get ready for work the next day, and make a pasta salad - so I knew I needed to come up with something quick and easy, yet crowd pleasing, that also wouldn't spoil on the three hour drive to western Maryland. That meant mayo was out of the question - I didn't want to risk it. I turned my mind to a vinegar & oil based dressing and that's how I came up with this recipe.

One of my favorite bases for pasta sauces is roasted cherry tomatoes. There is nothing like the flavor you get from simply sticking them in the oven at 400 degrees for twenty minutes, adding nothing more than some S&P and EVOO. It was the first thing that came to my mind when thinking of an easy recipe for crowd pleasing taste. I usually use this as a hot dish but figured why not use it for a pasta salad?

To add to the easiness of this dish, I decided to have the rest of the ingredients be cold ingredients that needed very little prep work that I could add to the pasta later. I knew that olives, arugula, and grated parmesan cheese would be the perfect complement to the flavors I already had going on with the tomatoes & dressing. I made the pasta, the sauce, the pine nuts, and the dressing the night before, and packed them in a cooler the next day along with the cold ingredients. Once we arrived in Deep Creek and were ready to eat dinner, I tossed the pasta with the dressing, the chopped olives, arugula, and cheese. It worked out really well. So this pasta salad is perfect to take with you to a picnic whether it's close to your home or far away, or to go ahead and serve right after preparing.

Everyone said that it was really good, and one person in particular even ate it straight out of the bowl as a late night snack ;-) With that said, I'm going to consider this recipe a success! haha

OK, now let's get cookin'!

Arugula & Roasted Cherry Toms Pasta Salad

Servings: a houseful of people or 12-20
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1 box small pasta, such as shells
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 tablespoons EVOO
A splash of dry white wine
1/8 cup of whole pine nuts
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper (FCBP)
A pinch of red paper flakes
2 handfuls of pitted kalamata olives, chopped
3 handfuls of baby arugula leaves
4 ounces grated parmesan cheese

Dressing:
Drippings from the roasted tomato pan
1/4 cup EVOO
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place a large pot filled 3/4 of the way with water on the stove over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add your pasta. Follow the directions on the box for cooking time.

Drain in a colander in the sink once the pasta is done cooking and run cold water over it for about 30 seconds. Set aside.

Add the chopped sweet onion, garlic, and red pepper flake to an oven safe dish (I used a pie dish). Drizzle with one tablespoon of EVOO and a pinch of S&P. Mix to coat the onions in the oil.

Place the dish in the oven for ten minutes to allow the onions to soften a bit.

Remove the onions from the oven and add the entire container of cherry tomatoes to the dish. Add the splash of dry white wine and one more teaspoon of EVOO. Top with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of FCBP.

Stir to combine.

Put the dish back in the oven and allow to cook for 20 minutes.

While your tomato sauce is cooking, toast your pine nuts. Place a nonstick skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add the pine nuts to the pan.

Make sure to regularly check on and stir the pine nuts. They burn very easily. Once they are golden brown, after cooking for about ten minutes, remove them from the heat and pour them onto a plate to cool. Set aside.

Place the cooked, cooled pasta in a large serving bowl (preferably plastic if you're going to be traveling with it).

Arrange a salad dressing container so that you can easily pour the juices from your tomato sauce into it.

Remove the tomato sauce from the oven and carefully pour the excess juices into your salad dressing container.

Pour the tomatoes and onions over the pasta.

Use the spatula or a fork to pop the cherry tomatoes so that their juices spill out. Stir to combine.

Next, make the salad dressing. Add another 1/4 cup of olive oil to the salad dressing container along with 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar. Shake vigorously until the two are combined.

If you are going to travel with the pasta and assemble it at your destination, this would be the end of your work for your time at home. Place plastic wrap over the top of your pasta bowl and place it in the fridge. Add the cooled pine nuts to a food storage container and set aside with your dressing.

To assemble the pasta salad at home or at your travel destination, follow these steps.

Add the pine nuts and chopped kalamata olives.

Stir to combine.

Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each S&P, and stir again. Drizzle your dressing over the pasta, a little at a time, tasting as you go along. Add as much dressing to your taste.

Next, add the grated parmesan cheese and stir to combine.