Warm Pasta and Tomato Salad
This salad has been a favorite of mine for a long time. I make it when fresh tomatoes are in season. You can serve it on its own, or as a side to grilled meats. It’s not like most salads, in that it is served warm.
The start of the salad is a mix of fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, oil, seasonings, vinegar. A lot of the typical ingredients you might find in a salad. These ingredients are mixed together and chilled, allowing enough time for the flavors to blend.
When you are ready to serve the salad, you toss the tomato mixture with fresh cooked, hot pasta. The result is a warm salad. Of course, you can serve leftovers cold, if you like.
Sometimes I top the salad with Parmesan cheese, too.
So here is the recipe. If you have some fresh tomatoes, you might want to try this salad. It really is tasty.
Warm Pasta and Tomato Salad
1 lb. Plum tomatoes, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
4 oz. Fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 T. dried basil or 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1 T. capers, optional
1 t. dried oregano
½ c. olive oil
¼ c. red wine vinegar
3 T. balsamic vinegar
Dash of hot red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1 lb. Uncooked pasta
Combine all ingredients, except pasta, and chill overnight. Cook pasta, drain and toss with tomato mixture. Mixture should be served right away. Serves 6.
Tomato Pasta Salad
I have been enjoying plenty of fresh, local tomatoes and I am always looking for new ways to enjoy them. This salad really celebrates the tomato.
I used tomatoes three different ways in this one salad. I started with a homemade tomato pasta, added fresh diced tomatoes and finished it with a tomato salad dressing.
The salad has fresh mozzarella cheese added to it, along with some hard cooked eggs. You could easily add cooked chicken or shrimp, if you prefer.
Here is the recipe for the salad and the dressing. I posted the recipe for the homemade tomato pasta at the bottom of this post. You can, of course, use store-bought pasta, if you prefer.
Tomato Pasta Salad
8 oz. tomato pasta or tri-color pasta, I used homemade
12 oz. diced tomatoes
2 sweet peppers, seeded and chopped
½ c. sliced green onions
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
3-4 hard cooked eggs
Tomato herb dressing- recipe follows- or use the vinaigrette of your choice.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Combine with remaining ingredients and toss. Serve immediately or chill. Serves 4.
Tomato and Herb Dressing
1 c. tomatoes, peeled and seeded, fresh or canned
½ c. chopped parsley
2 green onions, chopped
2 T. fresh celery or lovage leaves
2 T. fresh basil leaves or 2 t. dried
½ t. each salt and garlic powder
½ c. olive oil
Dash hot pepper sauce
Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth. Makes 1½ cups.
Fresh Tomato Pasta
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
½ -2/3 c. tomato juice- I just pureed a fresh tomato in the blender, seeds, skin and all. You might need a little more.
Fresh minced herbs, like chives, basil, parsley, rosemary, optional
Place flour and salt in bowl and stir to blend. Start adding the tomato juice, stirring to form a firm dough. Knead until smooth and cover dough, allowing to rest at least 20 minutes. I like to mix the dough in a food processor. Just mixes faster. You can also mix in a stand mixer using the dough hook. Once dough is rested, roll out to desired thickness and cut into noodles or use as the base for ravioli. Fresh pasta cooks in just a couple of minutes. Watch carefully. Serves 3-4.
Fresh Tomato Salads
Tomato season is too short around here. I can never get enough of what my mom called “real tomatoes”. The first few tomatoes never made it in the house. Warm from the sun, they were too tempting. We would pick them right off the plant and eat them. Deer have made it pretty impossible for me to grow tomatoes right now. Luckily, local farm markets have many beautiful tomatoes.
I am enjoying eating fresh tomatoes right now. Later in the season, I will purchase enough tomatoes to can and dehydrate to enjoy once the season is over.
I thought I would share a few of my favorite tomato salad recipes with you.
They are pretty simple. I think that is how it should be. When you have something as close to perfection as a ripe tomato, little more is needed.
Marinated Tomato Salad
3 large tomatoes, cut in wedges, or 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 basil leaves, cut into thin strips
2 T. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Combine ingredients and serve at room temperature. Serves 4-6.
Tomato and Feta Salad
3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
12 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil -I used a lemon infused olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
In a bowl, mix the feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, onion, olive oil, and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 2.
Warm Pasta Salad
1 lb. Plum tomatoes, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
4 oz. Fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 T. dried basil or 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1 T. capers, optional
1 t. dried oregano
½ c. olive oil
¼ c. red wine vinegar
3 T. balsamic vinegar
Dash of hot red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1 lb. Uncooked pasta
Combine all ingredients, except pasta and chill overnight. Cook pasta, drain and toss with tomato mixture. Mixture should be served right away . Serves 6.
BLT Salad
6-8 slices bacon
2 slices rye bread
2 slices Swiss cheese
5 c. torn up lettuce or mixed greens
3 T. olive oil
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. balsamic vinegar
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2-3 tomatoes, diced
Cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, drain and crumble. Remove most of the bacon grease from the pan. Make a sandwich with the rye bread and the Swiss cheese. Toast in the skillet over medium heat until golden brown and cheese is melted. Set aside. Place lettuce in bowl and toss with the oil to coat the leaves. Toss with the vinegars and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes and the bacon and toss. Cut the sandwich into cubes and place on the top of the salad. Serves 2.
Note: you can make two sandwiches if you want more bread and cheese in the salad.
Tomato Feta Salad
Warm Pasta Salad
BLT Salad
Fresh Tomato Salads
Tomato season is too short around here. I can never get enough of what my mom called “real tomatoes”. The first few tomatoes never make it in the house. Warm from the sun, they are too tempting. I just pick them right off the plant and eat them.
Then, I start to think about preserving some for after the season is over. So I start drying and canning tomatoes.
Sometimes, in the excitement of canning and dehydrating tomatoes, I find I haven’t remembered to eat enough of them fresh. So anxious to get as many as possible put away for winter, I have denied myself the pleasure of fresh, juicy, vine-ripened tomatoes.
Well, not this year. I have been having tomatoes with my eggs for breakfast, creamy tomato soup for lunch and plenty of tomato sandwiches and salads. I thought I would share a few of my favorite tomato salad recipes with you.
They are pretty simple. I think that is how it should be. When you have something as close to perfection as a ripe tomato, little more is needed.
Marinated Tomato Salad
3 large tomatoes, cut in wedges, or 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 basil leaves, cut into thin strips
2 T. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Combine ingredients and serve at room temperature. Serves 4-6.
Tomato and Feta Salad
3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
12 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil -I used a lemon infused olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
In a bowl, mix the feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, onion, olive oil, and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 2.
Warm Pasta Salad
1 lb. Plum tomatoes, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
4 oz. Fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 T. dried basil or 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1 T. capers, optional
1 t. dried oregano
½ c. olive oil
¼ c. red wine vinegar
3 T. balsamic vinegar
Dash of hot red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1 lb. Uncooked pasta
Combine all ingredients, except pasta and chill overnight. Cook pasta, drain and toss with tomato mixture. Mixture should be served right away . Serves 6.
BLT Salad
6-8 slices bacon
2 slices rye bread
2 slices Swiss cheese
5 c. torn up lettuce or mixed greens
3 T. olive oil
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. balsamic vinegar
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2-3 tomatoes, diced
Cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, drain and crumble. Remove most of the bacon grease from the pan. Make a sandwich with the rye bread and the Swiss cheese. Toast in the skillet over medium heat until golden brown and cheese is melted. Set aside. Place lettuce in bowl and toss with the oil to coat the leaves. Toss with the vinegars and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes and the bacon and toss. Cut the sandwich into cubes and place on the top of the salad. Serves 2.
Note: you can make two sandwiches if you want more bread and cheese in the salad.
Tomato Feta Salad
Warm Pasta Salad
BLT Salad
Autumn Tomato Salad
Autumn Tomato Salad
It’s always kind of sad to say goodbye to fresh tomato season. There should be another month until frost hits our area and I am trying to eat as many fresh tomatoes as I can between now and then. I have been getting heirloom tomatoes from my friend Carl at Blue Pike Farm. I needed a salad for a dinner with friends and decided to make this simple but tasty tomato salad. That’s the thing about fresh tomatoes. You really don’t need to do much with them. Heck, I’m happy with some fresh slices and a sprinkle of salt. For this salad I started with slices of fresh tomatoes. I had a bottle of this amazing olive oil so I added a drizzle of it to the tomatoes along with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, too. I also added a few basil leaves and some freshly ground sea salt. I wanted a crunch element and decided to add toasted pumpkin seeds. You can buy them already toasted or just toast them yourself.* I sprinkled them over the tomato salad and it added just the texture I was looking for.
The olive oil I used
*To toast pumpkin seeds place a layer of pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet and cook them, over medium heat, until they start to brown a little. Toss or stir often. Be careful not to burn them. The seeds will jump a little in the pan. That’s normal. Once seeds have toasted remove them from the heat and let them cool down.
Tomato Salad
Fresh Tomato Salad
When tomatoes are in season I enjoy plenty of tomato sandwiches. I also can and dehydrate a lot of them. One of my favorite ways to enjoy them is in a simple tomato salad. With perfectly ripe tomatoes sometimes less is more. For this salad I just used tomato wedges and a few other ingredients for a great dish. The fresh garlic and basil work well with the tomatoes. I left it pretty simple this time, but you could easily add some feta cheese and perhaps a few olives and some oregano for a Greek- style tomato salad.
Tomato Salad
3 large tomatoes, cut in wedges, or 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 basil leaves, cut into thin strips
2 T. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Combine ingredients and serve at room temperature. Serves 4-6.
Warm Pasta Salad
Warm Pasta Salad
I love to make this salad when I have really good tomatoes. It is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh tomatoes. The base of the salad is a mixture of tomatoes, mushrooms, onion and some seasonings which are allowed to blend together in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to have your salad toss the cold tomato mixture with fresh cooked hot pasta. The pasta tomato mixture is served right then, warm and fragrant. I often sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on the top, or serve on the side. I do sometimes serve the salad cold.
Warm Pasta Salad
1 lb. Plum tomatoes, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
4oz. Fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 T. dried basil 1 T. capers, optional
1 t. dried oregano
½ c. olive oil
¼ c. red wine vinegar
3 T. balsamic vinegar
Dash of hot red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1 lb. Uncooked pasta
Combine all ingredients, except pasta and chill overnight. Cook pasta, drain and toss with tomato mixture. Mixture should be served right away . Serves 6.
Tomato and Feta Salad
Tomato and Feta Salad
For a quick and tasty salad one of my favorites is sliced, fresh tomatoes with feta cheese. This recipe also has some diced sweet onion and a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice to finish it off. Salt and pepper to taste and you’re done. Sometimes less is more. In this case just a few ingredients and you are good to go.
Tomato and Feta Salad
3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
12 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil -I used a lemon infused olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
In a bowl, mix the feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, onion, olive oil, and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 2.
