Not Your Mama's Pasta Salad

Back when I was at Johnson & Wales, I worked at Hospitality Dining Hall. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday I would wake up early and feed the students of our school. This dish brings back all the memories of working at Hospitality. From fluting mushroom challenges, to making vats of Ranch dressing and who can forget the pig roast. So much fun was had working with Lemon, Jini, Danita, Chuck, Mark, Chaco, Cecily and the one and only Chef Dave. Lemon and Jini who know who I am talking about. I believe Chef Dave was the reason we wanted to to work at hospitality.

It was Chef Dave that taught me this next dish. It was early Spring and pretty warm out. We were prepping for Saturday dinner at Hospitality and I was working Garde Manger until Chef Dave pulled me aside and asked if I could make some kind of pasta salad. He told me to grab his book and find the recipe for Greek pasta salad in our Johnson & Wales recipe book. As I read through the ingredients and method of prep, the only thing that made it Greek was the Feta, but it still made for a delicious pasta salad. I can still remember Dave showing me how to chiffonade the basil leaves, talking me through each step of the recipe. The end result was a pasta salad almost to good to be eaten in your backyard. The ingredients all work together brilliantly and over the years, I have adjusted this recipe to my liking and have used it for many backyard barbecues. Here is my recipe for Greek Pasta Salad with a little help from Chef Dave....

Serves 8 people as a side dish

1 lb Rotini pasta
2 cups cherry tomatoes, washed and sliced in half
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, rough chop
1 teaspoon capers, washed
1 tablespoon both fresh basil and fresh mint, cut chiffonade
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil, Greek if you can find it or Portuguese is good as well
1 cup cubed feta cheese
salt
pepper


Place a pot of salted water to boil pasta. While pasta is cooking, in a large mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, capers, herbs and pinch of salt and pepper. Cover and set aside until pasta is done. When pasta is cooked, strain and add directly to the mixing bowl of goodness. Toss everything together and add the oil. Ensure all the pasta is coated. If you need more oil, don't be afraid to add it. Just before serving, taste and adjust seasoning, then fold in the Feta cheese. This can be served at room temp or right from the fridge. Enjoy!