Tomato & Feta Pasta Salad
A tangy pasta salad packed with flavor thanks to the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette, kalamata olives and feta cheese.
35 lbs of tomatoes.
6 lbs of kirby cucumbers.
20 lbs of peaches.
12 pints of raspberries.
4 dozen ears of corn.
1 tired mountain mama.
Yesterday I ran a canning marathon if you will. My friend Liza and I hit the farmers market wednesday and bought just about anything we could get our grubby hands on. We met bright and early yesterday with a list to put up a simple tomato sauce, marinara sauce (recipe coming soon!), dill pickles, vanilla bean peaches, raspberry jam and four dozen ears of corn to be shucked and frozen. Somehow in between all of the preserving, I also managed to take kids to gymnastics, buy new shoes for the oldest, get the littlest a haircut, do a load of laundry and clean up the mess that inevitably came after a full day of canning. I don’t embellish when I tell you I literally crawled up the stairs to bed last night, every bone in my body tired and achy. I know it will be all worth it come December when I bust into my crushed tomatoes and smell the bounty of summer but right now I’m still reeling from an extremely full day.
I don’t like to do that much canning in one day (it’s exhausting) but when you wait until the last minute like I did this year, you either do that much canning in one day or you don’t do it all. And since I really look forward to a little sunshine in my diet come February, I put my big girl panties on and got to work. As much as we DID get done, we still didn’t get the peaches or jam so that’s what I’ll be doing all morning today. I think after this I’ll be done… except for the apple sauce I put up every year and apple pie filling I’m going to try and the sun gold tomatoes I’d like to dehydrate…
So much canning and so little time. That’s how I feel anyhow. With the cooler weather sneaking up and all the rain we’ve had, I can’t help but think (and hope) winter is just around the corner. Until then, I’ll put up the goods and hoard them like I do. I have a rule in regards to my canned goods- if you can still get it fresh, don’t touch the preserved stuff. So for the next few weeks, I’ll be serving my family all the melon, tomatoes and peaches they can tolerate.
This pasta is a perfect way to use up the end of summers bounty. The tomatoes are holding strong and other than eating them right out of hand, this is one of my favorite ways to enjoy them. I’m a sucker for a great pasta salad. I used brown rice noodles here but any kind will do. The sauce is zippy thanks to capers and sun dried tomatoes and the fresh tomatoes lend a beautiful sweetness to balance the salty feta and kalamata olives. Perfect for lunch boxes, a light supper and everything in-between!
Have a great weekend, everyone and if you’re canning, happy preserving!
PrintTomato & Feta Pasta Salad
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Pin RecipeDescription
A hearty pasta salad with tomatoes, feta cheese and kalamata olives.
Ingredients
For the pasta salad:
- 1/2 lb spiral shaped pasta
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 6 oz feta cheese, diced or crumbled
- 1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley, chopped
For the dressing:
- 5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove fresh garlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook the pasta according to directions on package. Drain well and transfer pasta to bowl to cool. Add the halved cherry tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese; set aside.
- Make the dressing by combining the sun-dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Pour dressing over the pasta and toss well. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten
9 Comments
You are super woman!
Not normally but yesterday for sure!!
Mountain Mama should be renamed Super Mama. I feel a little bit guilty as I didn’t accomplish 1/4 of what you did. But I have had days! Great salad and one I love. Feta and capers and tomatoes are three of my favorite things.
I rarely have days like I did yesterday. It was a doozy. I slept like a baby last night! 🙂
Oh my gosh, haha I was soo confused when you posted the huge amounts in the beginning of the post. I thought that’s how much of each you used in this Pasta, I was like what?! haha
The pasta salad looks drool-worthy to say the least.
This pasta salad looks absolutely delicious! So many lovely flavors in one dish!
MMMmmm this is something I would like to have in my fridge to munch on everyday for lunch ; ) delicious!!
I’m loving everything about this!
I have made this pasta salad recipe twice and while it is very good I am confused about your SECOND listed ingredient of olive oil and yet no directions of when/where to add it. you have it in the dressing part of the recipe but no where else (unless I’m blind I did not see). are you supposed to,drizzle right before serving. the noodles do tend to soak up the dressing very quickly so I’m thinking that is when you would and when we did but it is not mentioned. thanks Kelly! love your blog and recipes!!