Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Fredda
Use the camera icon to toggle the step by step photos on and off. Sun-dried tomato pasta salad made with a rich sun-dried tomato sauce, olives, mozzarella and fresh cherry tomatoes. Perfect for a summer lunch or dinner.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups (230g/8oz) short pasta (we used fusilli bucati corti)
- 1 packed cup 170g sun-dried tomatoes jarred in oil (drained weight)
- 1 garlic clove
- lemon juice (just a squeeze)
- 1/4 cup (50g) ricotta
- 5 oz (140g) fresh cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 140 g (5oz) mozzarella bocconcini
- Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
- 1 cup (250ml) reserved pasta water
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
- Meanwhile, add the drained sun-dried tomatoes, 1 clove of garlic and ricotta to a food processor (or use an immersion blender) and blitz to a thick paste. If it’s too thick, add some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to help loosen it. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, stir and set aside.
- Before draining the pasta, reserve around 1 cup (250ml) of pasta water. Drain and add the pasta to a large mixing bowl. Add around ¼ of the sun-dried tomato paste and a splash of water to the pasta and stir until coated (this is to stop it sticking).
- Add around ¼ cup (60ml) of pasta water to the remaining sauce and stir until it resembles a looser thick sauce rather than a paste.
- Let the pasta cool for 15-20 minutes, then add the remaining sauce and stir through. Add more pasta water if needed. Taste for seasoning and add any salt if needed.
- Add the fresh cherry tomatoes, olives, arugula (rocket) and mozzarella and stir until well combined. Top the shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
- Adding all the sauce at once - I like to wait until the pasta has cooled before adding the majority of the sauce, as it can dry out when the pasta is hot. You do need to add a little sauce or olive oil to the pasta when it's hot to stop it from sticking.
- Mozzarella bocconcini - these are small bite-sized balls. If you can’t find them, you can cut a regular ball of mozzarella into cubes. I love mozzarella di bufula DOP for quality and flavour.
- Exact measurements - you don’t have to follow the exact measurements for the additional ingredients (olives, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and arugula/rocket) you can add more or less to taste.
- Storage - the pasta salad will keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
Calories: 534kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 1227mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 1095IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 592mg | Iron: 4mg
