Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Olives
NOTE: This
style of pasta salad, common in delis and gourmet stores, uses a
vinaigrette to dress noodles. Often, finely diced or shredded
vegetables are added. The problem with most of these pasta salads
is the acid. Without any lemon or vinegar, the pasta salad tastes
flat. But the acid often causes the pasta to soften and dulls the
color and flavor of many vegetables, especially green ones. The
solution is to use lemon juice, which is less acidic than vinegar,
and to let the vegetables cool to room temperature to set their
color before combining them with the hot pasta and
dressing.
Choose a short, stubby pasta that can trap pieces of vegetable such as fusilli, farfalle, orecchiette, or shells. Serves six to eight as a side dish.
1 large bunch broccoli (about 11/2 pounds), stalks discarded and florets cut into small bite-sized pieces (about 5 cups)
Salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound pasta
12 large black olives, pitted and chopped
12 large fresh basil leaves, shredded
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Bring several quarts of water to boil for cooking broccoli. Add broccoli and salt to taste and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool to room temperature.
2. Whisk lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and hot red pepper flakes together in bowl large enough to hold cooked pasta. Whisk in oil until dressing is emulsified.
3. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil for cooking pasta. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook pasta until al dente. Drain well. Rewhisk dressing to emulsify and immediately toss with hot pasta, broccoli, olives, and basil. Cool to room temperature and serve. (Pasta salad can be refrigerated for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
VARIATION:
Pasta Salad with Grilled Fennel and Red Onions
Omit broccoli and replace hot red pepper flakes with black pepper to taste and olives with 8 drained and slivered sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. Trim 1 large fennel bulb and cut through base into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Peel and cut 2 medium red onions crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Brush vegetables with 11/2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt to taste. Grill, turning once, until both sides are marked with dark grill marks, about 15 minutes. Cool vegetables and cut into thin strips. Add to hot pasta and vinaigrette along with sun-dried tomatoes and basil.