Black Olive Pasta Salad

Picnics are for pasta salad, and this one will steal the show. Though you might automatically default to picking up the usual deli prepared pasta salad, don't. Summertime is the perfect occasion to get creative with pasta salads.

With so many ingredients to choose from narrowing it down to just a few can be tricky. This classic summer pasta salad is the ideal blend of salty black olives, fresh basil leaves and sweet ripe tomatoes, making this salad the perfect picnic menu item for those long summer afternoons spent outdoors.

Ingredients:

1 pound of linguini pasta

3/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1 packet of cherry tomatoes

3/4 cup black olives

1/2 cup of chopped Basil Leaves

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl add the olive oil and ricotta cheese, and stir well.

Next, add in the chopped tomatoes, basil leaves and sliced black olives to the bowl, blending well. 

Allow the salad to sit while you cook the pasta according to the directions on the packet. Strain your pasta and then add it to the mixing bowl filled with the black olives, tomatoes and basil.

Stir well until all the ingredients are fully blended. Finally, season with salt and pepper to taste, and then allow the pasta salad to cool before serving.

Serves:

4 - 6