Mediterranean Pasta Salad from Bonnie Newhoff

Thanks to Bonnie Newhoff for bringing this flavorful pasta salad to our October meeting. The recipe is from Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Tuna and Basil
Basil Vinaigrette Ingredients:
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salad Ingredients:2 cups fusilli or penne
6 ounces haricots verts, trimmed
Salt to taste
2 large tomatoes chopped, or small grape tomatoes
Sliced kalamata olvies
2 cups fresh basil leaves, stacked and thinly sliced
1 (7-ounce) can oil-pack tuna, drained and flaked
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced or chopped
Capers, drained and rinsed

Directions for the viniaigrette:
Whisk the vinegar, basil, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl until combined. Add the olive oil gradually, whisking constantly until the olive oil is incorporated.

Directions for the salad:
Cook the pasta using the package directions and drain. Toss the hot pasta with a small amount of the vinaigrette in a bowl. Blanch the green beans in a small amount of boiling salted water in a saucepan until tender-crisp and drain. Immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and drain.

Layer the pasta, tomatoes, olives, basil, green beans and tuna in a large salad bowl, drizzling each layer with some of the vinaigrette. Toss lightly and top with the hard-cooked eggs and capers.

Serves 4.