Blistered Tomato Basil Pasta Salad w/Truffle Oil is an ideal spring and summer side dish. Fresh minced garlic and white truffle oil mingle with basil, blistered tomatoes and farfalle (bow tie) pasta. An irresistible dish!

So this pasta salad is such a great addition to the menu in spring and summer. I’d planned to share this recipe today some time ago, little knowing that Mother Nature had a belated and naughty April Fool’s trick up her sleeve. So here it is April and yesterday morning we wake up to several inches of snow. Then today we wake up to several more inches of snow. And then it snows all day long! So it’s been a Currier & Ives kind of day, but the kind you wish for at Christmas, not in April.

The crocuses have already bloomed in our yard and the green lily and tulip shoots are just coming up. Sure hope they survive, but hard to know at this point, since they’re presently buried under piles of the white stuff. I don’t think the forecasters really expected all this snow, at least I didn’t hear anything about it. All the kids went to school as usual this morning, then Jon and I slipped out, did a little shopping, slid around on the snowy, icy roads. Dropped in at Panera, nabbed the fire-side seats and savored a bowl of hot soup. It was definitely a soup day! We made the best of this crazy New England spring weather and were determined to get out of the house.

So I’m really hoping it’ll warm up around here soon so we can grill out and have this delicious Blistered Tomato Basil Pasta Salad w/Truffle Oil. This easy gourmet pasta salad is the perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken, beef or fish. Makes an easy and impressive side dish to take along to a picnic or barbecue.

Just a few easy gourmet touches in this Basil Pasta Salad: blistered tomatoes, fresh minced garlic and white truffle oil. The grape tomatoes blister up quickly up in a skillet with a little olive oil and are so pretty and mouthwatering.

I’d never tried white truffle oil in a pasta salad before, but got some in my Christmas stocking and thought I’d try it out. Here’s some interesting information posted on the back of the Napa Valley Harvest White Truffle Oil bottle.

“Made from extra virgin olive oil and white truffles, this aromatic and earthy oil is known throughout the world for its incomparable taste. These jewels of the earth are found by specially-trained “truffle pigs” and are harvested in September at night by trifolau (truffle pickers.) Once you taste this wonderful aromatic oil, you will consider this a pantry staple. Drizzle over pasta or atop risotto, or add a dash to crisply sauteed vegetables.” (So what do you think? Specially trained HOGS find the truffles in the middle of the night…)

The white truffle oil mingles with the garlic and basil in this pasta salad, giving rich flavor to the blistered tomatoes and pasta. If you don’t have white truffle oil in your pantry, you can easily use vegetable oil or even corn oil in this recipe. This is such a flavor-filled, pretty Basil Pasta Salad.

Sure hope it’s sunny and warm grilling weather wherever you are so you can enjoy this pasta salad very soon!

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Blistered Tomato Basil Pasta Salad

A flavorful and gourmet fresh pasta salad with blistered tomatoes and basil. Garlic and truffle oil bring out the flavors.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Allie Taylor

Ingredients

• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves cut in strips
• 1 1/2 tablespoon white truffle oil or vegetable oil or corn oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 ounces pasta farfalle bowties, cooked & drained
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• olive oil to saute w/the tomatoes.

Instructions

• Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet over high heat.
• (Watch carefully so you'd don't burn the oil)
• Add grape tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Stir and cook for 3-5 minutes more 'til blistered.
• Remove from heat, salt and pepper to taste.
• Set aside.
• In medium serving bowl toss together cooked pasta bowties, fresh basil strips, 1 1/2 tablespoons truffle oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, and salt.
• Toss to combine.
• Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.
• Serve immediately warm or at room temperature.

Notes

This recipe uses fresh garlic which gives fabulous flavor. Over time, garlic tends to "bitter", so this pasta salad tastes best fresh!

You may also like: Crunchy Asian Salad

The post Blistered Tomato Basil Pasta Salad w/Truffle Oil appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.

Roasted Veggie Mediterranean Tortellini

If you’ve been keeping up with the blog this summer, you know my basil plants are growing like weeds. (Unfortunately my weeds are also growing like weeds….) I don’t necessarily attribute my stellar basil crop to a green thumb. I think it was the prayer. Generally speaking, I have a thumb the shade of midnight. It was formerly green, but that was before I brought four little children into the world. Now I don’t have time to baby plants. So I pretty much get them in the ground, throw out a little compost, cross my fingers and hope for the best. Say a prayer.

Anywho, I’ve been on the lookout for recipes to use up my bountiful basil crop. And last week my King Arthur catalog arrived in the mailbox. It’s always a good day when my King Arthur catalog arrives. (Check out my THLG field trip to King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont here.)

It’s  good day because:

• #1 – the catalog is free
• #2 – the photography is great
• #3 – the recipes and products inspire me in the kitchen
• #4 – it reminds me of many wonderful shopping memories at King Arthur Flour through the years, not to mention delicious lunches and treats in their newly renovated bakery and cafe

Just for the record, they’re not even giving me a discount or anything for saying all that. I’m just a happy customer. (But I won’t exactly weep and wail if you put in a good word for me.)

So the catalog arrived and on page #3 was a lovely recipe for a Fresh Macaroni Salad. The recipe involved mixing up pasta dough, making noodles with a pasta press and roasting veggies for a new flavor twist. Don’t know about you, but I don’t have time these days to make my own fresh pasta noodles. Some day, but not anytime soon.

But the recipe inspired me to create a similar salad using store bought fresh Buitoni tortellini instead. I found it in the refrigerated section at my grocery store. We had this Roasted Veggie Mediterranean Tortellini for dinner last night with grilled chicken on the side. Loved the fresh flavor combination of the tortellini, basil, garlic, Kalamata olives and roasted veggies.

Toss fresh veggies with olive oil and salt, then oven roast.

And just twenty minutes later you get this incredible deliciousness! Hold me back.

“Enlarged to show texture.”

(I stole borrowed that line from the Raisin Bran box.)

Toss everything together and season to taste.

(So you don’t like Kalamata olives? Well for the love of Peter, Paul and Mary. Just leave them out.) 

Hope you love this Roasted Veggie Mediterranean Tortellini like we do. Let me know what you think!

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Roasted Veggie Mediterranean Tortellini

Fresh pasta salad. Roasted eggplant, red pepper, tortellini, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, basil, zucchini.

Cuisine Mediterranean

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Allie Taylor

Ingredients

• 3 cups diced eggplant 1/2"
• 1 1/2 cups diced zucchini 1/2"
• 1 cup diced red pepper 1/2"
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes halved
• 1 small clove fresh garlic minced fine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 -12 ounces fresh cheese tortellini cooked according to package instructions (I used Buitoni)
• handful of fresh basil roughly chopped
• additional salt pepper, olive oil to taste
• Optional: 1 cup kalamata olives pitted and quartered

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cook tortellini according to package directions.
• Drain and set aside.
• Toss all prepared vegetables in serving bowl with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Spread vegetables on parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.
• Remove vegetables from oven and let cool slightly.
• In a large serving bowl toss roasted vegetables with tortellini.
• Add in basil, minced garlic and Kalamata olives if you're using them
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Drizzle with additional olive oil if needed.
• Serve warm, refrigerate leftovers.

Roasted Veggie Mediterranean Tortellini is perfect served alongside grilled chicken.

You may also enjoy: Chicken Artichoke Pasta Salad

The post Roasted Veggie Mediterranean Tortellini appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.