Monday, July 18, 2011

Antipasto Salad

A number of my extended family members flew in this week for my cousins wedding up in New Hampshire. Leah and Tray hosted a cookout at their apartment on Wednesday evening, welcoming Aunts, Uncles and cousins to Boston and kicking off the family celebrations. They served up a feast of marinated grilled shrimp, chicken and corn on the cob preceded by number of appetizers including fresh made guacamole and my antipasto salad. The Italian Pasta Salad proves a simple and satisfying summertime side dish. The authentic antipasti ingredients purchased at Salumeria Italiana made all the difference!! Living in the tourist infused mecca that is Boston's Little Italy does have its perks.
Ingredients
-1 box of rotini pasta
-2 green peppers, chopped
-1 package cherry tomato, halved
-1 cup black olives, pitted and halved
-1 can of cannellini beans
-1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, chopped
-1/4 lb salami slices quartered
-olive oil, to taste-balsamic vinegar, to taste
-salt & pepper, to taste

Pitting olives is quite a project!
The cured salami from Salumeria Italian is some of the best I've ever tasted.
I bought extra of certain ingredients which made some excellent salami & mozzarella sandwiches for our road trip to NH - not to mention I have been eating them by the slice regularly.1. Cook the pasta to al dente tenderness - about 8 minutes. Drain well and cool completely.
2. Toss with peppers, olives, beans, tomato, mozzarella and salami.
3. Stir in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper as desired.
4. Chill for approximately one hour before serving.Antipasto Salad is an excellent compliment to grilled foods or even a quick and easy weeknight meal on its own, not to mention an ideal way to feed a crowd!
I have soooo many wedding pictures to sort through and a family dinner in the North End still to recap! It has all been such a whirlwind, a non stop party, and truly a blessing to spend time with family I see once or twice a year if that.

It is back to the grind today, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm looking forward to some relaxing weeknights at home at least in the beginning of the week. Summer lunch series has been a miss but it's not gone forever! Between the July 4th holiday week (Monday off, not Friday) and traveling out of town for the wedding, it has been on a two week hiatus but will return this Friday for sure!

16 comments:

  1. yummmm antipasto is my favorite. i haven't tried a pasta salad version before, but im obviously going to now.

    glad to see you're having a fun summer!

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  2. Looks like a fun time. The corn looks delicious!

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  3. That pasta salad looks so yummy! The crunch of the peppers with all those salty ingredients sounds perfect.

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  4. My summer is not complete until I've had grilled corn. Looks like a great weekend!

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  5. Sounds like such a fun weekend - grilled corn, doesn't get much better than that!

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  6. my friends and I were JUST talking about an antipasto pasta salad! Looks delish!

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  7. Your piece of cake looks like a face of strawberries on a background of chocolate. LOVE.

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  8. Looks like a great time! And that pasta salad looks incredible!

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  9. That pasta salad looks delicious. I never think of antipasti for a summer gathering but that is a brilliant idea. Looks like you all had a great get-together!

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  10. I saw a salad like that somewhere- maybe martha stewart and it looks awesome. Especially with salami from the north end. Glad you had a fun weekend. Your pictures on fb were so pretty : )

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  11. Salumeria Italiana is my new favorite shop! I can just imagine how amazing that pasta salad must have tasted.

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  12. Corn on the grill is one of my all time faves. It's a million degrees so maybe I should have this tonight with a side of boozy popsicles? Plan!

    xo,
    C

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  13. That pasta salad looks like a perfect meal!

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  14. Mmmm I LOVE the Salumeria! I stop in there for meats, olives, and sundried tomatoes whenever I get the chance :) That salad looks delicious, especially with all those ingredients!

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  15. While reading all the posts from the weekend I somehow forgot this one! I enjoy being featured on the blog...good recap and glad to see people commenting on the corn, It's my favorite way to cook it and I think you get the best results by far!

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