Pasta Salad A La Michael

Michael makes this great pasta salad for our Camp Biche Thursday picnic.  

Last night, I had to throw together a quick dinner and thought I'd try to recreate Michael's masterpiece.

It wasn't quite as good, I'm missing some secret ingredient . . . but the result was close enough to create food bliss.

This photo is of the leftovers which I ate for lunch :)

A Delicious Facsimile of Michael's Pasta Picnic Salad

serves 4

• three large tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into one inch cubes
• two tablespoons of capers
• half a cup of black olives, pitted, and halved
• half of a red onion sliced paper-thin
• two cloves of garlic chopped finely
• quarter pound of washed and de-stemmed spinach leaves, chopped in thin strips
• two cups of dry, whole-wheat, rigatoni boiled until al dente then rinsed in cold water
• 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (get the real stuff!)
• salt and pepper to taste

1.  Dressing:  Whisk the balsamic vinegar and olive oil together until it starts to emulsify -- thicken.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

2.  Salad:  Mix all the ingredients except the dressing and cheese.

3.  Place covered in refrigerator until you're ready to serve.

4.  To serve:  Add dressing and toss ingredients thoroughly.  Sprinkle with the cheese.