Recipe: Pasta Salad with Plum Tomatoes, Basil, and Blue Cheese

Pasta Salad

12 dpe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), quartered, or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
2 cups (lighty packed) whole fresh basil leaves
2 ounces finely crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound penne, mostaccioli or other medium-shaped pasta, uncooked

Toss the tomatoes in a bowl with the basil leaves, blue cheese, oil and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate and let marinate for 45 minutes to 24 hours. Just before serving, cook the pasta according to package di- rections; drain thoroughly. Transfer the pasta to a mixing bowl while still warm. Add the to- mato mixture and toss to mix. Let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving.


Note: Use the smallest leaves of the basil for this recipe. If the leaves are longer than 1 inch, tear them in half crosswse before adding to the tomato mixture.