Goat Cheese Pasta Salad
This goat cheese pasta is a perfect vegetarian dish for summer potlucks and parties. Cooked and chilled fusilli is combined with tomatoes, onions, olives, basil, and goat cheese.
The salad tastes great with missing ingredients, too, so leaving out the onions or basil still works well.
The salad can be made a little spicier with crushed red pepper, or non-vegetarian with the addition of pepperoni or salami.
- Prep Time: 2h
- Cook Time: 1h
- Serves: 4
- Yield: 1 bowl
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fusilli pasta
- 8 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons balsalmic or red wine vinegar
- 4 plum tomatoes (seeded, chopped, chilled)
- 2 green onions (sliced very thin, chilled)
- 5 ounces pitted Kalamata olives (chilled)
- 8 ounces goat cheese (cut into chunks)
- 5 basil leaves (cut into thin strips)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt and/or crushed red pepper (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Cook pasta until tender but still firm (e.g, 8-9 minutes instead of the 10-12 minutes requested on the package). Drain. Rinse with cold water to end cooking. Toss in bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil. Cover and refrigerate. This should be done a few hours before the mixing step, but can be done a day in advance.
- Chill bottle of Kalamata olives in refrigerator.
- Chop tomatoes and onions and chill in refrigerator. This should be done a few hours before the mixing step to prevent the ingredients from melting the cheese.
Mixing
- Add vinegars to a new bowl. Whisk in the remaining 6 tbsp olive oil. Add small amount of salt and/or red pepper, if desired. Pour into bowl of pasta and toss to coat.
- Add tomatoes, green onions, and olives to bowl of pasta and toss to coat.
- Add goat cheese and sliced basil, tossing carefully.
- Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Comments
- If desired, additional tomatoes, onions, and cheese can be added. As well as chopped pepperoni.
- Depending on taste or food restrictions, the onion or basil can be left out.