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.
