Italian Pasta Salad 

Making pasta salad during the summer is almost mandatory, it is always one of the recipes that in addition to saving us time in the kitchen, make lunch time pleasant despite the heat. Cold pasta is a versatile recipe, it can be seasoned in a thousand ways but not only, it also allows us to recycle some leftover pasta at lunch. The pasta salad made like this is very tasty, the cherry tomatoes blend perfectly with eggplant and ricotta and you can also add other ingredients such as black olives. The cold pasta par excellence: simple, fast, fresh and with the colors of the Italian flag! Cold Mediterranean pasta is an easy to prepare first course that requires very few ingredients. Tomatoes, mozzarella, black olives and a few basil leaves are the game!

Ingredients

200 g Pasta

15 cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons Greek black olives

10 cherry mozzarella

Extra virgin olive oil

1 clove Garlic

1 bunch of Basil

Salt

Pepper

Preparation

Gently rinse the basil leaves, dry them and transfer them to a bowl. Cover them with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add a clove of garlic deprived of the core and heat everything to maximum power in the microwave for a minute. This operation is not essential but will guarantee you a tastier and more aromatic oil that in the specific case of a simple cold pasta can make the difference. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes, divide them in half and set aside. Boil the pasta in salted water, drain it al dente and cool it quickly under a gentle jet of cold running water (this operation serves to block cooking). Season the pasta with basil flavored oil, cherry tomatoes, black olives (pitted or whole) and cherry mozzarella. Season with salt, a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper and abundant basil leaves. The Mediterranean pasta is ready, transfer it to the fridge and let it flavor in a cool place for a few hours or alternatively consume it immediately.