RECIPE: Greek Pasta Salad

Week 6, semester 2 and I finally had the energy to go out in the garden and harvest the last of the tomatoes from my summer growing season. Let me tell you people, DO NOT grow an entire flat of Roma tomatoes unless you love tomato sauce and paste. When home grown these little puppies pack a tomato-y punch! After countless attempts to pawn these tomatoes off on friends, family, and frenemies I realized I had to start getting creative with this last harvest. In a recipe book I had laying around I found a recipe for a Greek pasta salad which I had the majority of the ingredients for - YAY!

After I cooked this recipe, I just looked at it. It wasn’t as inspiring as I thought when I had the idea to cook it. So I placed it in the fridge with no interest in eating it until necessary. Well Monday evening rolled around and it was time to enjoy my weeknight pasta pot and this Greek pasta salad was it. You Guys I WAS SPEECHLESS. I’m just gonna go out on a limb here and say, maybe it was the time in the fridge that gave this pasta such an amazing flavor. Leaving it there must have allowed all the flavors to marry and become gay because this was the best thing I had done with those tomatoes all summer long and it was unfortunately the last freaking harvest! It was so good, I made it again with some heirloom tomatoes from a friend, which is what you’ll see pictured for the ingredients. So I won’t make you wait like I did, here’s the recipe for my amazingly modified Greek Pasta Salad.

Greek Pasta Salad

4 whole Roma tomatoes
1 Tbsp Chopped fresh oregano
½ box Penne pasta
¾ cup Crumbled feta cheese
1 whole Red onion sliced thinly
2 ½ Tbsp Red wine vinegar
½ cup Chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ Tbsp Brined capers
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 clove Garlic
1 tsp Oregano

Preheat the oven to 350F. Slice the tomatoes into quarters and place them skin side down on a baking tray. Sprinkle with 1 of the oregano and season with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for 30—40 minutes until they are soft and caramelized. Meanwhile, cook the pasta using the directions on the packaging.

In a small frying pan add 1 Tbsp of olive oil, the garlic clove and 1 tsp of oregano while the pan is still cool. Allow the oil to heat and add the onions and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until soft. Then add in the capers and cook for another minute.

Combine the rest of the olive oil with the vinegar and stir into the pan. Remove from the heat and stir through the pasta, adding the remaining oregano and the parsley.

This recipe can serve 4 comfortably or 6 with an additional side such as grilled chicken or baked salmon or tilapia

Enjoy!