Categories: ItalianSaladsThe Secret Recipe Club

February SRC: TSRI’s Tomato Feta Pasta Salad

I am not used to posting recipes one day after the other. And that is why I should have drafted this post earlier. Especially since this month I was very good at managing my SRC recipe selection. For once I did not procrastinate till the last moment to try a recipe. But that’s the only thing I was good at it this month.

I thought I would have the weekend to complete the writing part of the post- as the making part had been taken care of. But on Saturday, we had a pre-Super Bowl party at home and I got busy with that. And on Sunday, half day was spent hungover and the rest watching the super bowl. I also managed to lose $10 to V, betting on the Patriots to win! I was not happy.

So, as always, even though the intitial planning was great, by the end I was left rushing through another SRC post.

I was assigned The Slow Roasted Italian as my secret blog to choose a recipe from. A creation of Amanda of Amanda’s Cookin, you can find all about the Secret Recipe Club here.

Now this month’s SRC task, like all other month’s, was not easy. TSRI (The Slow Roasted Italian) is a wonderful blog- a combined effort of the writer and the cook, Donna, and Chad, the photographer. Believe me, it was not easy choosing a recipe.

When I was assigned TSRI I just could not stop flipping through all the recipes that are there on the site. Donna has a section dedicated to lighter food too- called On a Lighter side. She also has amazing salad recipes, and features cocktails as well. I was really kicked that she had a lot of chicken recipes since that’s the only meat V likes to eat, with the exception of lamb kebabs.

But it was not a chicken recipe that I tried, though there have been some that have been bookmarked. Also her 7 layer mexican dip is top on my to-try list!

What I did try was a Tomato Feta Pasta Salad. I made it for my friends when I hosted coffee at my place and it was a big hit. Everyone loved it and so did I. The dressing is unlike any other that I have had and I loved that it all came together so quickly, most of the work being done by the food processor.

The only change I made was that I used cherry tomatoes that I broiled in the oven before tossing them in the salad. I never cook too much with capers, but after tasting this dressing I am excited about using it more in my cooking.

I am glad that I am part of the SRC- though I am sure even without it, I would have stumbled on TSRI and tried a recipe from the site, but SRC gave me the nudge to try a recipe now.

Tomato Feta Pasta Salad

Recipe adapted from TSRI. Original source Ina Garten

Ingredients

1/2 pound rotini pasta
Kosher salt
Extra Virgin olive oil
1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and diced
1 pound feta cheese, medium-diced
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

For the dressing:

5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. (I let it run through a little cold water, to quicken the cooling process.)
Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes (you can broil the tomatoes for that extra grilled touch in the pasta salad), olives, feta and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.
Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and parsley, and toss well.
Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and serve later.

Check out what the other SRC members have been cooking this month: