Pasta Salad is always always ALWAYS a hit at backyard BBQ's and cookouts - but I'll be honest with you... sometimes it's not great. So seeing as how it's clearly a crowd fav, and a recipe that's great at sitting out for a long event, I gave it a makeover so you'll never have sub-par pasta salad ever again! Meet Tomato Confit Pasta Salad!
Tomatoes are going wild here in LA at the farmers markets and I always over-buy them. About 3-4 days after the market, I realize that I overdid it a bit and panic bc I can't let any produce go to waste. When it comes to tomatoes, the answer is always to make tomato confit. It's a jammy tomato situation that can get slathered on a piece of toast, added to grilled steak, fish or chicken or stirred into a grain bowl. It's also the PERFECT way to make a pasta salad sing. You'll never look back once you make this tomato confit pasta salad!
Other ways to use tomato confit:
- Tomato Confit Cacio e Pepe
- Tomato Confit Tart
- Slather it on a piece of ricotta toast
- Add it to grilled protein
And a few more of my fav NON-BORING Pasta Salads:
Tomato Confit Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 10 ounces short pasta like orecchiette or ditalini
- 2 pounds cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ½ cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ bunch basil, plus more as needed
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- fresh chives to garnish
Instructions
- Combine the tomatoes and olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- As the oil starts to get hot, and the tomatoes start to blister, reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The last 5 minutes, add the garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and stir to combine
- Once the tomatoes start to fall apart, remove them from the heat and let cool in the skillet for about 20 minutes, stir in the basil to wilt.
- Cook the pasta until al dente while the tomatoes are cooling. Reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water once cooked and add to the tomato confit if needed to loosen it up, stir everything into the pasta. Adjust seasoning as needed and serve with fresh basil and chives.
Would make a good pareve salad for shabbos dinner when tomatoes peak.
I LOVE your tomato confit. I make it and freeze it and enjoy it all winter long. All those fresh ingredients are in my garden, so it is doubly delicious!!
Looks yummy!! Do you chill it or serve it right away?
either or!! I like it room temp