Summer Tomato Penne Pasta Salad Recipe
You see certain recipes and you know its YOU (err..or should it be FOR you?!?... .whatever!) It suits your personality, tastes, style, timing, your energy levels and well throw few more of "bits of you" in there! You realize that someone out there whoever came up with such a recipe would know you too! I really love love fancy schmancy looking recipes which look eye catching, colorful and are vibrant. But to come up with something like that, I sadly lack the time and most importantly inclination all the time! There are times when I simply cook cos I HAVE to and not cos I WANT to. Eating out all the time, can become boring too, you know! Oh well at least it does for me!
Summer Tomato Penne Pasta Salad Recipe
In such cases - you use recipes which you know are tailor made for you - Like this Summer Tomato Pasta recipe is ME! So ME that I have been making this ever since I laid my hands on the recipe which is like 3 years ago! I love tomatoes, love pasta, love fresh mozzarella and that sweet tang of balsamic vinegar! Imagine all these flavors coming together and what more, involving hardly any cooking time!  Its more like a salad with a simple dressing and which would take you less than 15 minutes to whip up with hardly any prep work. The only cooking time is for Pasta. The rest is done in a bowl. Summer Tomato Penne Pasta Salad Recipe Doing a step by step pictorial for this recipe is a SIN! But well - since CIY is based on principles lets grit our teeth and stick to it! I took couple of "Not-my-style' photos like "Cleaning tomatoes" (yeah- as if you wouldn't know to do THAT) just so that this post indeed looks like a recipe post ;)  The amount can vary according to your taste - this is No FUSS recipe, so get wild with it :) This recipe is adapted from a cookbook called "Vegetarian"
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Serves: 2 people
  • Yields: Serves 2 as main course and 4 as appetizer
Ingredients
  • 2-1/4 cups wholegrain dried Penne Pasta (use any pasta u like)
  • About 3-4 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved (or use quartered plum tomatoes or any sweet tomatoes)
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cups of cubed fresh mozzarella cheese (You can also use Paneer instead)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • zest and juice of 1 large lemon
  • few fresh basil leaves, shredded
  • salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. You can use any tomatoes you like. I had some fresh cherry tomatoes which I halved and used for this recipe. They look so cute and don't really need cooking. They are sweet and juicy. If you don't like seeds, halve the tomatoes and remove the seeds (and chop them some more if using large tomatoes). I don't mind the seeds - hence did not remove them (..and I am lazy to do all that work)
2. Cook the pasta according to the package instruction until al dente (just tender). I have for long moved to using wholegrain Pasta more often hence used a wholegrain version of Penne. You can use whatever you have on hand.
3. Meanwhile, mix together the oil, vinegar, lemon zest and about 1 tbsp lemon juice along with basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the tomatoes and cheese . Toss it well and let it sit until the pasta is cooked.
5. Drain the Pasta and toss with the tomatoes mixture.
Serve it immediately garnished with more basil if desired. Some yummy garlic bread as an accompaniment would make this picture perfect! Summer Tomato Penne Pasta Salad Recipe

Recipe Reference

recipe slightly adapted from vegetarian cookbook

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2 Member Reviews

By Sam on May 25, 2011

I have tried this recipie it is very easy to make and very filling too. Thanks for the recipie. It hardly took me 20 min to make it!

By Priyanka on Jun 20, 2010

i made this receipe n everyone enjoyed in my house....thanx a ton for d receipe

14 Comments

By Delores on Jul 16, 2014

I am not that fond of mozzarella cheese (outside of pizza), I may try this with Monteray Jack. The rest sounds perfect to my taste. :-o

By Biryani Recipes on Jul 12, 2010

I loved this recipe. Very tasty and looks delicious. I think this is one of the great recipe. Good combination of Pasta and Salad .

By Edeth on Jul 1, 2010

I love the look of this recipe, and may just try it out for one of my 4th of July get-togethers this weekend!

By motor vehicle accident lawyers on May 24, 2010

wow, look at that, the color is perfect, I bet the taste is as good as the color

By MaryMoh on May 23, 2010

I think this post of yours has been scrapped. Please check http://www.onlyeasyrecipes.com/summer-tomato-pasta-salad-recipe-tomato-basil-pasta-chef-in-you/

By Judi on May 21, 2010

:-? How can I copy and paste this wonderful recipe without all the photos?

By Apu on May 21, 2010

Looks yummy!! I adore pasta salads!! They really are great in the summer.

By sayantani on May 20, 2010

give me pasta any time and I can finish it off in no time. lovely salad...looks so bright with all those cherry tomatoes, perfect summer dish. yum

By Priti on May 20, 2010

Ahh looks so gud and simple...now a days am going for only simple pasta...and this is just perfect

By sunkan on May 20, 2010

enjoyed this recipe here would try it soon as my dotty loves pastha a lot and she makes it all the time now with your help i am going to be a good mamma any more...

By Madhuri on May 20, 2010

My fave too! The pics are way too tempting! I wish I could grab some of it, right off my screen now! Like Indhu, I too skip the cheese and add corn if I have them on hand. Oh and yes, how could I forget onions!! :-D

By Sailaja Damodaran on May 20, 2010

Looks very interesting

By Indhu on May 20, 2010

awesome DK.. this is what I make for myself atleast once a week... I skip the cheese and add peas and corn :) like you said, quick and flavorful :)

By Tweets that mention Summer Tomato Pasta Salad Recipe | Tomato Basil Pasta | Chef In You -- Topsy.com on May 20, 2010

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