Pasta Salad With Summer Tomatoes, Basil and Olive Oil

@Oscar Leyte 1/2 teaspoon of salt to dress a pound of pasta is not a lot of salt. The salt in the water adds only a little salt to the pasta as it cooks. And contrary to popular myth, you only need to limit salt intake if you have high blood pressure. Salt does NOT cause high blood pressure, it just aggravates it. So whether your are young or old and have perfect blood pressure you can use all the salt you want.

There are a lot of variations on this one, all of them good! One of my favorites is the Silver Palate's version - they add a pound of brie to the sauce. Decadent...but totally delicious.

Wonderful recipe. Used both capers and olives, increasing total to one half cup. Mashed garlic with salt and anchovies. For crunch, added small-diced red pepper and celery (one large rib) to the marinade. Added feta just before serving. Tasted great the next day, too.

I have a problem with many of these recipes in that they use large amounts of salt, something not so great for us older readers who need to cut down their salt intake. Of course I reduce the amount suggested quite drastically, but is this really needed? Ditto - half a cup of oil for pound of pasta salad. I bet most of it drips into the bowl and is left there after all the salad is served. Otherwise, many of the recipes are wonderful. Thanks

This was delicious, but I added a lot of stuff - corn, scallions, chives, feta, lemon zest, and pine nuts, and I used both capers and olives. I would make this again!

Toss with two cans of chunk light tuna drained, or Italian tuna in oil while adjusting the amount of EVO. My go to quick summer meal when the tomatoes are perfect.

The taste of salt makes me ill. I do not cook with it at all. When recipes call for salt, I skip it, as I did when I made this recipe over the weekend. When entertaining, I tell anyone new that they have to add their own salt. The salad was enjoyed by all. Also, no oil was left in the bottom of the bowl. It is needed to marinate the tomatoes and flavor the pasta. Please don’t criticize a recipe unless you have tried it.

Delicious. Easy to do. Fortunately I have garden tomatoes and basil. Added some fresh parmesan cheese. BTW, it is NOT too salty. Great recipe.

This recipe is a keeper! I made this salad for a large gathering of “down home type” folks yesterday. To accommodate the crowd, I added the sliced olives and skipped the anchovies or capers. I used fusilli, broken up into about 3” lengths so it would be easier for people to eat. The only addition was a topping of small/pearl mozzarella balls. It was a real hit—the flavors marry well and provide a pleasant, overall balance. Another winner!

There was a very similar recipe in Gourmet magazine years ago that added a little red wine vinegar to the tomatoes and capers and, if memory serves, some chopped Kalamata olives. It was a delicious and i'm glad to see this recipe to remind me of it. Will definitely try this!

Wow. I thought it was delicious the day of, but overnight in the fridge, the sauce got thicker and the flavors married. Amazing. Hold it overnight if you can.

@Gene, I’ve had normal BP all my life, but in my 60s, it started to creep up. I decreased my salt intake (as well as to plant based whole foods eating from ovo-lacto vegetarian), and my BP went back down. There is quite a bit of evidence that salt does increase BP even for those with normal BP. For starters: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-evidence-that-salt-raises-blood-pressure/. There’s lots more.

I found the raw garlic to be too bitter and ruined what would have been a delicious pasta salad, I will cook the garlic next time before adding it.

Wow. This was much greater than the sum of the parts! Such a simple but delicious salad, and I didn’t even allow the time (we were hungry) to really sit the tomato mixture or the pasta mixture. It was still delicious. Used both capers and sliced olives, zested in a lemon, and mixed in mozzarella balls after the pasta cooled off. I would chiffonade basil as it was bitter just torn. Will definitely make again!

Made it twice--once with anchovies for my kids, another without for my mom who is a vegan. Upped the garlic amount a bit. Used differently-colored cherry tomatoes (yellow, green and red) and campanelle--looked very appetizing and tasted amazing both times.