The heat arrives and with it the desire for cold dishes, so for today’s lunch, I prepared this morning a rich and delicious Mediterranean cold pasta salad with olives, cherry tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella, seasoned with lots of fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil. Nothing else is needed to make a delicious main course that is perfect as a single dish, rich, extremely tasty, and complete, to be enjoyed with great happiness because it is also a light dish with few calories. Finally, a pasta salad without tuna!!! I recommend preparing the cold pasta a few hours in advance and seasoning it right after the pasta has cooled down, so once mixed during the rest in the fridge, all the flavors blend together, and the pasta becomes simply delicious, and also well seasoned, I found it as if I had added sauce, beautifully colored by the cherry tomatoes, I regret not having taken a photo afterward, but only during preparation, it looks even more inviting. Anyway, I guarantee it is really delicious, I will definitely make it many more times during the coming summer, and maybe next time I will show it to you better once ready to serve. In the meantime, start trying it, it’s worth it, if you can with buffalo bocconcini, otherwise with classic mozzarella bocconcini.
Here many other delicious cold dishes
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 1
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients for Mediterranean Cold Pasta
- 3 oz mezzi rigatoni
- 4 datterini cherry tomatoes
- 5 buffalo mozzarella bocconcini (about 3.5 oz)
- 15 pitted leccino olives (or taggiasche)
- to taste olive oil
- to taste salt
- 5 leaves fresh basil
Tools for preparing Mediterranean Cold Pasta
- 1 Pot
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Colander
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Wooden spoon
Steps to prepare Mediterranean Cold Pasta
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until it’s al dente. If you prefer, you can use other types of pasta.
Drain and let it drain very well, I leave it in the colander for 2 minutes.
Stir and pour the pasta into a large bowl, so it cools quickly. If it’s too cooked and tends to stick, you can use a little oil to separate it; mine was very al dente and didn’t need oil, but I added it when the pasta was cold to avoid heating it and altering the taste.
Season the cold pasta with cherry tomatoes cut into quarters. Add plenty of finely chopped basil. Then add the olives cut into rings, the buffalo mozzarella bocconcini cut in half, after letting them drain for at least half an hour. Finally, mix everything.
Leave in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap until it’s time to enjoy it, well chilled and very tasty. Prepare the pasta salad a few hours before, so it becomes flavorful and fresh.
If you want, you can also use other ingredients, such as arugula instead of basil, or you can skip the olives if you don’t like them.
