Jamie Oliver's Best Pasta Salad

Mirj's Note:

One of my favorite Naked Chef recipes. I make this often. I just love the trip of boiling up the garlic cloves with the pasta, and then just squeezing them out of their skins and adding them mashed to the dressing.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 11 ounces small shell pasta
• 3 garlic cloves
• 9 ounces yellow cherry tomatoes
• 9 ounces cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup black olives , pitted
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives
• ¼ cup fresh basil
• 1 medium cucumber
• 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
2. Throw in the pasta and garlic and simmer for about 5 minutes or until al dente, and drain.
3. Put the garlic to one side for the dressing.
4. Put the pasta in a bowl.
5. Chop the tomatoes, olives, chives, basil and cucumber into pieces about half the size of the pasta and add to the bowl.
6. Squash the garlic cloves out of their skins and pound in a pestle and mortar.
7. Add the vinegar, oil and seasoning.
8. Drizzle this over the salad, adding a little more seasoning to taste.

Reviews

[dale!]

A great light and fresh tasting pasta salad. It's great to find one that doesn't contain mayo for a change. I did add an extra clove of fresh crushed garlic to the dressing as the boiled garlic didn't have much flavour left in it. I used chopped seeded tomato instead of the cherry tomatoes as it was all I had and added a little bit of chopped yellow capsicum too. I was serving a very fussy eater who loved it and came back for more the next day! A keeper recipe.

[Terese]

This has to be the best pasta salad I've ever tasted and how a pasta salad is meant to be made. The addition of the garlic is truly inspired and it is so subtle but lifts the recipe to a another level. It tastes so fresh and alive in your mouth, no prepacked ingredients just beautiful fresh produce you can't go wrong. Use your best extra virgin olive oil for this one. Thanks Mirj, this is now my favourite salad.

[Carred]

This is a great salad I needed a salad I could make ahead so when company comes I don't have so much to do at the last minute. This salad exceeded my expectations! It is simple, elegant, tasty, quick, and can be made in advance. I served this salad cold and I added some fresh broccoli florets. I used grape tomatoes cut in half and left out the yellow tomatoes.