Tomato Basil Pasta Salad

Please don't judge this salad by the picture.  I must have been super hungry when I photographed this meal because I didn't take my usual 10-12 photos of the finished product and I certainly didn't take the time to get the lighting right either.  You can assume from my haste that this dish was so good that I couldn't wait to dig in and I didn't want to waste any unnecessary time on photographs.  In all seriousness, it was delicious - much more delicious than this picture indicates. 

Tomato Basil Pasta Salad
1 lb medium shell pasta
1 to 1-1/2 lbs cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
2 Tb apple cider vinegar
1/3 c fresh basil leaves, chopped
fresh grated Parmesan cheese (to taste)

Mix together the tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar, and basil. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

 

 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and drain.

 
Mix pasta with the tomato mixture until well combined and refrigerate until ready to serve (at least four hours).

Serve sprinkled with Parmesan on top.

So there you have it, a simple summer pasta salad that is easy to assemble and really tasty.  So tasty in fact that you wont even want to take the time to stop and take proper pictures.  (hehe)

Ciao!