Olive Bar Pasta Salad

The beauty of this pasta salad is its flexibility. Head over to the supermarket’s olive bar (or the jarred condiments aisle) and load up your cart with whatever looks good: roasted red peppers, grilled artichokes, herb-infused olives, marinated beans or mushrooms—try to use at least three options for the most exciting pasta salad. Tossed together with a garlicky sun-dried-tomato base, all that’s missing is some mozzarella and a few handfuls of basil. Serve this one solo, maybe with some arugula, and call it dinner; or bring it as a side to a picnic or barbecue—the longer it sits, the better it tastes. If you can find roasted garlic or garlic confit, use 4 cloves instead of 2 fresh, smashed into a paste with the flat side of a knife.

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Recipe information

• Total Time

  30 minutes (plus chilling)

• Yield

  4–6 servings

Total Time

30 minutes (plus chilling)

Yield

4–6 servings

Ingredients

2

½

¼

½

½

¼

1

8

4

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Mix 2 garlic cloves, finely grated, ½ cup finely chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, ¼ cup sun-dried tomato marinating oil, ¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (if using), ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt in a large bowl to combine.

   Step 2

   Cook 1 lb. short pasta (such as radiatore, cavatappi, or rigatoni) in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking liquid, and rinse. Transfer warm pasta and reserved pasta cooking liquid to bowl with sun-dried tomato mixture.

   Step 3

   Add 8 oz. small mozzarella balls, halved, or fresh mozzarella, torn into 1" pieces, and 4 cups coarsely chopped mixed olive bar antipasti (such as roasted red peppers, marinated grilled artichokes, mixed pitted olives, marinated white beans or chickpeas, and/or marinated mushrooms) and gently toss to combine. Cover pasta salad and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.

   Step 4

   Just before serving, taste pasta salad and season with more salt and black pepper if needed. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and top with basil leaves.

Step 1

Mix 2 garlic cloves, finely grated, ½ cup finely chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, ¼ cup sun-dried tomato marinating oil, ¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (if using), ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt in a large bowl to combine.

Step 2

Cook 1 lb. short pasta (such as radiatore, cavatappi, or rigatoni) in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking liquid, and rinse. Transfer warm pasta and reserved pasta cooking liquid to bowl with sun-dried tomato mixture.

Step 3

Add 8 oz. small mozzarella balls, halved, or fresh mozzarella, torn into 1" pieces, and 4 cups coarsely chopped mixed olive bar antipasti (such as roasted red peppers, marinated grilled artichokes, mixed pitted olives, marinated white beans or chickpeas, and/or marinated mushrooms) and gently toss to combine. Cover pasta salad and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.

Step 4

Just before serving, taste pasta salad and season with more salt and black pepper if needed. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and top with basil leaves.

Recipe notes