Asiago Pasta Salad

A couple of years ago, the deli at one the grocery stores I frequent had a colorful pasta salad displayed in the case that caught my eye.  It consisted of penne pasta, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, peppers, large chunks of asiago cheese and some sort of vinaigrette.  I tried a sample and was sold.  I immediately purchased 1/2 lb and rushed home to figure out what was in it.  It turned out to be pretty straight forward, with a basic red wine vinaigrette, and the simplicity of the whole thing  made it taste even better to me.

We are heading to a family reunion tomorrow, so I made a batch of this to bring along.  The first time I brought this salad to a family function, several people made me promise to bring it every year.  So I will.

A few suggestions for this salad: if you don't have any yellow peppers lying around, don't let it stop you from making it - just use whichever ones  you do have.  The same goes for the tomatoes - chunk some other tomato you already have on hand (the juices will just add more flavor to the salad).  It'll taste mildly different, but it's a pretty fool proof salad.  The only things I wouldn't mess with are the olives and the Asiago (because then it wouldn't be Asiago Pasta Salad, now would it?).  Use olives from an olive bar (many grocery store delis have these) or find a good quality jar of olives and brine.  Please do not substitute those flavorless black things in a can.  For the cheese, try to find an Asiago that has been aged 3-8 months (Asiago Mezzano); the cheese is semi-hard at this age so it's easy to cut and it holds its shape well in a dressing sort of setting, and it still tastes a little sweet which is nice because it's such a spunky cheese.

Asiago Pasta Salad

• 1 13-14 oz box whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 pint grape tomatoes (halved, if you like)
• 8 oz pitted kalamata olives  (halved, if you like)
• 6 oz  Asiago cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/3 c red wine vinegar
• 2/3 c extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Boil the pasta according to package directions.  Drain, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, peppers, tomatoes, kalamatas and Asiago cheese.

In a small jar (not smaller than a pint) with a tightly fitting lid, combine the vinegar, olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper.  Screw the top on tightly and shake like crazy until everything is well mixed.Pour over the pasta mixture and mix well.

Serve right away or store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

This recipe makes about 8 heaping 1 cup servings so adjust the recipe for as many servings as you'd like to have on hand.