Pasta fredda
The perfect choice for picnics, parties, and quick & colorful summer meals.
I broke my own rule and went to Costco the day before a holiday weekend.
Costco is crazy enough on normal days, and it becomes sheer madness the days leading up to holiday weekends, so I make a point to plan accordingly and either shop early, or elsewhere. This time, I failed.
We got out of town for Memorial Day weekend, taking advantage of our nieces’ graduation party to visit my dad and spend a few days at the lake.
That apostrophe placement is not a typo - they are triplets!
The little lakeside town only has a few casual restaurants—think pizza, burgers, and beer—and since it is Memorial Day weekend, they are certain to be busy. Wanting a quieter weekend and better food, we booked an Airbnb so we could cook at home.
Our original plan was a seafood meal—pasta allo scoglio and branzino all’acqua pazza. Fortunately, before heading to the fishmonger, we took a closer look at the pictures of the kitchen in our Airbnb. It was clearly under-equipped, and we concluded that if we wanted to cook at home, our best option was to keep it simple and take advantage of the Weber gas grill.
So, before leaving town, I made a Costco run for Plan B groceries: ingredients for a pasta fredda, a couple of racks of lamb, and some prosciutto, burrata, and olives for an antipasto. I also bought a beautiful, full rosemary plant for our herb garden and two spectacular purple impatiens for our backyard. These spontaneous add-on purchases brightened my mood and made dealing with Costco’s crowded aisles and parking lot wars more tolerable.
Pasta Fredda
Pasta fredda, or pasta salad, as it is called in English, is a dish that calls to us over and over again in the summer months. It’s perfect for picnics, parties, and the quick, no-fuss weeknight dinner
There are many variations of pasta fredda. We keep ours simple: mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, salt, cracked black pepper, and olive oil. We’ve tried using burrata instead of mozzarella. It adds a lovely creaminess, but it also turns the pasta salad pink, the soft cheese mixing with the juices of the tomato.
The key to a delicious pasta fredda is to use fresh mozzarella and good olive oil. Salt the pasta water abundantly and cook the pasta correctly. Be generous with the olive oil. And please, skip the “Italian dressing” used in American recipes for pasta salad. That is yet another aberration of Italian cuisine; there is no such thing in Italy.
Pro tip: the best pasta is found at the bottom of the serving bowl because that is where the olive oil and tomato-mozzarella juices settle.
