Bowl of Cold Pasta Salad Pizzaiola
(click to enlarge)

Cold Pasta Salad Pizzaiola


Italy   -   Mezze Penne alla Pizzaiola
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4-1/2 #
**
2 hrs
Best		 A tasty and attractive cold pasta salad suitable for buffet parties or table service. It can be made even a few days ahead.




1
1
2
1-1/2
4
7
4
2
1-1/2
1/3
1
------
#
cl
T
#
oz
oz

T
T
t
T
---
Pasta (1)
Garlic
Olive Oil ExtV
Tomatoes, ripe
Celery
Mozzarella
Anchovies (2)
Capers
Oregano dry
Salt
Wine Vinegar
-- Garnish
Green Leaves (3)  
Make   -   (2 hrs - 25 min work)
  1. Cook the PASTA the usual way in plenty of salted water until just al dente. Drain, tumble with a few drops of Olive Oil to keep it from sticking, chill.
  2. Crush GARLIC lightly, Mix with 2 T Olive Oil and leave to infuse until needed.
  3. Slice TOMATOES about 3/8 inch thick, and cut the slices into the size chunks you like. Split larger end of CELERY in half and slice fairly thin. Mix.
  4. Slice MOZZARELLA about 1/8 inch thick and cut into pieces about 3/8 inch on a side.
  5. Chop ANCHOVIES medium. Drain Capers. Mix.
  6. Crush Oregano quite fine.
  7. Assemble Salad: Mix in Tomatoes and Mozzarella, then Caper mix. Sprinkle with Oregano and Salt and mix. Remove Garlic from Olive Oil and dress the salad with the Oil. Stir in Vinegar. At this point it can be held in the fridge even a couple of days.
  8. When ready to serve, place in salad bowl and garnish with Green Leaves.
NOTES:

  1. Pasta:

      Use a small tubular pasta. The photo example was made with Pennette, quite a bit smaller than the usual Penne size, but about as large as you'd want to go.

  2. Anchovies:

      Count is for single fillets. Use Italian, Spanish or South American anchovy fillets packed in oil. Moroccan are generally inferior. For details see our Anchovy Products page.

  3. Green Leaves

      The pattern recipe calls for fresh basil leaves, and that's fine for immediate table service, but they tend to blacken rapidly. flat leaf parsley and celery leaves are more durable and work fine for buffet service.

  4. Changes:

      The Celery and Wine Vinegar did not appear in the pattern recipe, but I thought the salad needed a little more texture, color and a brighter taste.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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