Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

This has been on my blog list for months... Months I tell you!  "What is your blog list", you ask?   It's my collection of recipes to share here, the tried and true favorites that I make again and again.  I don't always make them right away because sometimes they just aren't seasonally appropriate, although who doesn't want a good pasta salad year-round as a lunch side.  I know I do, but really I do think of this as the perfect picnic dish so summer seems like the perfect time for it.

Apparently that's all I've been cooking this summer because the last three posts that I have done have been picnic sides with one type of grain or another and all are photographed in the large bowl that I transported them in.  Did you notice not one photo was on a plate?  Probably because that plate was plastic and the salads were served after a few glasses of wine and I clearly couldn't be bothered with taking photos that were blog-worthy.  This one was eaten while listening to Counting Crows at a concert venue.  (Like I said, it's been a busy summer and by busy I mean full of fun activities.)  The others were for BBQ's at friend's houses or some other occasion that required me to bring a Tupperware type container that I never seem to have enough of.  But this one, this one, is right near my absolute favorite.

It kind of came about from two different places and then merged into one.  The first place was from a friend and co-worker when I lived in San Francisco who was also quite the foodie.  We were always swapping recipes and talking about who was our favorite on Food Network and what our mom's were cooking.  I think we actually did a lot more talking about cooking than actual cooking.  Nonetheless, most foodies come from foodies and her mom was one as well.  When her mom was in town one time she made a delicious pasta salad and Emily brought it in to work with an extra serving for me for lunch.  Maybe it is my Midwestern-ness but I think I was shocked/fell in love with the fact that it was not mayo-based.  Not that I don't also have a love affair for mayo, but I find that I generally steer towards the oil based ones.   Regardless of the reason, I loved it and made it several times thereafter.  Until I came across Barefoot's version and loved it, but thought that it had some missing ingredients.  And so the marriage was made, my friend Emily's mom's version and Barefoot's version all rolled into one.  It does make kind of for a long ingredient list, but in my opinion it is best with all of it.  But make it your own, I certainly did.

I made this for a camping trip a couple of summers ago (You can tell how much of a "camper" I am by the fact that I made a fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomato pasta salad for a camping trip... enough said.) and everyone loved it.  Granted it could have been because the other side dish was a can of beans and the main course was hot dogs but I'm pretty sure even the second time everyone had it they liked it too.  Labor Day weekend is upon us, aren't you looking for something to bring to that BBQ?  You just found it...

Trish's Tips:  This is the ultimate make-it-your-own type recipe.  I added in the artichoke hearts and pine nuts based on Emily's mom's recipe.  My friend Steph's husband doesn't like olives so she leaves that out.  If I don't have pine nuts I'll omit them altogether.  It is a bit indulgent with both the mozzarella and parmesan, but I'm telling you, it's worth it, although you could only do 1/2 lb of mozzarella and it would be delicious as well.  The 'shortcut' version of this is a dressing made like Emily's mom; make a dressing from the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and the marinade from the artichoke hearts.  I've done this when I am not in a fully stocked kitchen or traveling and I don't have access to all of the ingredients and it is also yummy although if you have the ingredients I suggest making the dressing like this recipe states.  I will tell you, this dressing I could eat with a spoon, it is that good.  (This blog is called Feeling Saucy for a reason!)

Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa (& my friend Emily's mom)
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:
1/2 lb pasta (I prefer bow ties, Barefoot says Fusilli which are the spirals)
Kosher salt
1 cup halved or quartered cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and diced
1 lb fresh mozzarella, medium diced (the kind that comes floating in water)
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1/3 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

For the dressing:
5 sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained (or 1/4 cup julienned/chopped depending on how you buy it)
2 TBL red wine vinegar
4-6 TBL olive oil (start with 4 TBL and depending on how much sun dried tomato oil makes it in, you can increase to 6)
1 garlic clove
1 tsp capers, drained
2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup basil leaves, julienned

Directions:
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions.  Drain well and let cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, 4 TBL of olive oil, garlic, capers, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until almost smooth.  Taste, if it tastes to vinegar-y then add remaining olive oil 1 TBL at a time.

Add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, pine nuts and chopped sundried tomatoes to the pasta.  Add the dressing, basil and parmesan cheese and mix being careful not to crush the fresh tomatoes.

Will keep refrigerated, but if not planning on serving right away it is best to top with basil right before serving although it will keep if you don't wait.