Friday, June 17, 2011

Club Med Pasta Salad

A few weeks ago, I discovered this delicious pasta salad at Vons. When I bought it, it didn’t have a name or even a price, but the guy at the deli counter let me buy it anyway. I was apparently the first person to ever try this pasta salad at this store, and it was incredible. I brought it home for dinner with Pam and Chris. We devoured it. I realized that it couldn’t be too difficult to recreate, so a week or two later, I tried it myself. Amazing‼



I finally saw it at Vons again and this time it had a name and a price. It is called the Club Med Pasta Salad and it is the perfect name for it! I made it again for a BBQ last weekend and everyone raved about it. It’s perfect the same day it’s made, but it’s even more amazing as leftovers later. Pam and I have been known to eat it right out of our Tupperware!


So, in honor of summer, BBQs, and venturing outside my baking box, I give you the Club Med Pasta Salad!

Club Med Pasta Salad
1 pound medium shells pasta, slightly undercooked (I used Barilla)
½ -1 pound kalamata olives, rinsed, pitied, and sliced in half
8 ounces julienne cut sundried tomatoes in olive oil (I used Mezzetta)
6 ounces crumbled feta cheese (I used Athenos)
11 ounces pesto (I used Buitoni)
extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Introducing the cast for today's feature presentation: Club Med Pasta Salad!
(Just missing the olives...)
 
Cook the entire box of pasta according to box instructions, but leave it slightly undercooked.
Barilla Medium Shells.
While the pasta cooks, rinse the kalamata olives, then slice them in half lengthwise and remove the pits. (When I got the olives from the farmer’s market, I had to pit them myself. But, when I got them from the deli counter at Vons, the pits were already removed.)
Whole kalamata olives, fresh from the Hillcrest Farmer's Market!
 
If you can’t find julienne cut sundried tomatoes, just buy regular ones and cut them up yourself. I cut them to be about the same size as the olive halves.
Mezzetta Sunripened Dried Tomatoes, cut into small pieces.
 
Combine hot pasta, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes (with olive oil they came in) and feta cheese in a large bowl/container (preferably something with a lid). Once mixed, add pesto in small amounts. If your pesto sauce is dry, drizzle in additional olive oil to keep pasta salad from drying out.
Athenos Crumbled Feta Cheese.

Buitoni Pesto with Basil...not as delicious as my homemade pesto, but a decent substitute!
 Chill for 2 hours or until cold. Serve and enjoy!
Club Med Pasta Salad!!
Thanks for stopping by!

<3 Buttercup

11 comments:

  1. This is a great salad. I added a bit of cilantro, cumin, some minced garlic and a splash of lemon juice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! That sounds wonderful! I'll have to try that next time! Thanks for sharing!

      Delete
  2. I've purchased this pasta salad from Raleys in Jackson, Califonia several times and since the price at the Deli counter is rather high IMHO I decided to look for a recipe and came across yours.

    I pretty much followed your recipe except I used homemade Tapenade in addition to homemade Basil Pesto.

    I also added small diced red bell pepper which added some crunch and I think it was an improvement over what I've purchased from Raleys.

    Thanks for the recipe.

    Robert

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