We are rapidly approaching the end of the summer.  It’s be a great one – lots of travel, lots of time spent with great friends, enjoying everything New York City has to offer.  But I must warn you that I’ve gone into detox mode.  Detox mode means eating healthy, spending more time at the gym, and (sad as it may be) less baking.  But there is some fun to be had with this, because now the challenge is finding new and healthy recipes to try.

May I present a recipe that is healthy, easy, and doesn’t require you to turn on your oven.  Pasta salads range from really good to really boring.  The recipe caught my eye because the pasta is tossed with “olivada,” which is basically an amazingly awesome green olive tapenade (which would be great spread on bread, either plain or as part of a sandwich).  It was different from anything else I had made the in the past, and it was really delicious.  I bought sweet heirloom cherry tomatoes, which made the salad both look and taste wonderful.  The original recipe called for mozzarella cheese, but I opted to use feta.  Mozzarella, while great melted on pizza and the like, is actually pretty bland.  I thought the feta made the salad more interesting and flavorful (and not to mention better for you, as feta is a much lower fat cheese).

Pasta Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Green Olivada

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes 8 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

The salad will taste better the longer it sits in the fridge, so if you can, make a day or two ahead of when you are planning to serve it.  This recipe can be adapted or changed in a number of ways.  You can substitute other vegetables for some of the tomatoes, like artichoke hearts.  To make it a bit more hearty to serve as a main course, add a drained can of white beans or some grilled or roasted shrimp.  If you don’t like green olives, this would also be great if you used Kalamata olives instead, or a mix of the two.

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, peeled
~ 2 cups coarsely chopped pitted green olives (from about 6 ounces unpitted whole olives), divided
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (leave out to make this vegetarian, but it does give the dish a more complex, but not fishy, flavor)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound gemelli, fusilli, or rotelle pasta (I used bowtie pasta, because that’s what the store had that day)
2 pints cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
8 ounces feta cheese, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

1.  With machine running, add garlic clove to processor through feed tube and process until finely chopped; turn off machine.  Add 1 cup chopped olives, capers, red wine vinegar, anchovy paste, mustard, and crushed red pepper. Using 6 on/off pulses, process to chop coarsely.  With machine running, gradually add 1/3 cup olive oil, forming coarse puree. Transfer to bowl; stir in remaining 1 cup olives.  Season olivada to taste with salt and pepper (it will already be salty, so don’t add salt without tasting it first).  Do ahead: Olivada can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

2.  Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain well. Transfer drained pasta to large bowl. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon oil over pasta; toss to coat. Cool, stirring occasionally.

3.  Add olivada, halved tomatoes, feta cheese, and oregano to pasta; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.