Island Pasta Salad.
A pasta salad is an Italian summer classic.
Insalata di pasta isolana.
This is an Island interpretation, made with every ingredient that recalls the sun, sea and Sicily.
Most typically made with tuna, the insalata di pasta is a unanimously loved summer staple, one of those rare dishes that is eaten all across Italy, stretching from the Northern Lakes in Lombardy to the Southern seas of Sicily. Like much of Italian food, it can be customized to personal taste and circumstance, once the basics are mastered, of which there seem to always be several, especially in the most basic of dishes.
The first trick for cold pasta salads is to cook the pasta particularly al dente, 1.5 minutes before the packet instruction for small quantities and up to 2 minutes for large quantities (the pasta will continue to cook when you have drained it). It’s important to drain it well, and immediately drizzle in some olive oil to prevent it from sticking together as it cools. The choice of pasta as always is significant, and “short” pasta or pasta corta is the most typical, and to that the smooth variety (or liscia, undented or unlined). The goal is a perfect harmony between the pasta shapes, the chunky ingredients and the sauce, which all need to amalgamate well without being too gunky or runny, and avoid the biggest displeasure of all: the pasta separating from its ingredients, which invariably occurs when the wrong shapes, sizes and textures are tossed together.
Finally, the sauce needs to be added only when the pasta is fully cooled.
Recipes for pasta salads are generally very simple, and the dishes make perfect packed lunches or picnics. Ideal condiments are pesto sauces, tinned, smoked or cured fish and raw or cooked vegetables cut in cubes or julienne. Fruit is also worth experimenting with, as are some varieties of nuts.
Meats and gunky or watery cheeses should be avoided. One of the most delightful aspects of the pasta salad is that it should keep for a couple of days, which is worth bearing in mind when selecting your ingredients. And do not disregard potatoes with pasta. They should be cooked in the pasta water and will render the pasta pleasantly creamy. (Wholegrain, ancient grain or buckwheat pastas go particularly well with potatoes.)
This is a recipe that uses ingredients common to Aeolian cooking. It involves making a pesto of capers and basil, which needs to be made 6 hours or so in advance. Pesto sauces – grinding and marinating herbs and seasoning in olive oil for several hours – are an easy way to a delicious pasta salad and require only a small amount of advance planning. The classic basil pesto al Genovese which hails from Liguria in Northern Italy is prepared by boiling pasta together with potatoes, which are then drained and mixed into the pasta (with the addition of green beans), both steps contributing to generously velvety results. This is not stipulated in this recipe from Sicliy, but can of course be borrowed, for a heartier outcome. In that case you might substitute the chili for black pepper, for a more “Northern” tasting dish.
As most cold pastas, it requires a minimum of an hour’s rest, and should always be completed with a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on the plate, and potentially a couple of fresh salt flakes – two trusty tricks for “freshening up” almost any Italian food.
RECIPE.
Mezze penne, 400g – half penne, preferably without lines
Small salted capers, 100g
Garlic, 2 cloves
Large tomatoes, 6
Pecorino, a handful, grated
Basil, a large handful
Red chili powder, a teaspoonful, depending on strength/taste
Extra virgin olive oil
N.B. The salted capers here are key – the dish will not work with capers in vinegar or brine.
Prepare the pesto half a day or so ahead of time –
In a pestle and mortar mush the garlic with the capers, drained of their salt (depending on their saltiness, you might need to wash them under running water for a couple of minutes and then leave to soak in cold water for half and hour to an hour).
Add the basil leaves and reduce to a light paste.
Cover with lots of olive oil and leave to rest for half a day (the pesto).
Cook the penne al dente (1.5-2minutes less than the instructions) in generously salted boiling water. Drain well and leave to cool in a large salad bowl, drizzling and mixing in some olive oil to stop the pasta from mixing together.
In the mean time cut the tomatoes into medium sized cubes and grate the pecorino.
When the pasta has cooled add the tomatoes, the grated cheese, a pinch of chili powder and mix. Finally add the pesto and mix thoroughly for another minute. Taste for salt and leave to rest for at least an hour before serving.
Just before serving add some extra (extra virgin) olive oil, raw salt flakes and if desired some freshly broken up basil leaves.
