Jamie Oliver's "Best" Pasta Salad & Winners

I make this fresh and light pasta salad all summer long.

It's very simple and very delicious. I buy the cherry tomatoes at the farmer's market, since my plants aren't ready yet.

The secret is the boiled garlic cloves in the dressing, then mashed with the vinegar.
That makes this salad better than the usual garden variety pasta salad.

It's healthy and light and very addictive.

"Best" Pasta Salad (so Jamie Oliver says, but pretty close):

I use a variety of heirloom cherry tomatoes, red, yellow and green (about 2 lbs)
3/4 lb. (about 12 oz) of pasta shells
3 cloves of garlic
handful of kalamata olives, chopped
1 small cucumber cut into bite size pieces
handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
handful of snipped chives
5 tbsp of white balsamic vinegar (I probably use more)
8 tbsp of good olive oil (I just drizzle it in)
salt & pepper

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Throw in the pasta and cloves of garlic, boil until al dente, drain and run under cold water to cool. Put the garlic to one side to use for the dressing.

Put the cooked pasta into a bowl. Chop the tomatoes, olives, chives, basil and cucumber into pieces about half the size of the pasta and add to the bowl.

Squash the garlic cloves out of their skins and mush in a pestle and mortar. Add the vinegar, oil and seasoning. Drizzle this over the salad, adding a little more seasoning to taste.

As with most pasta salads, best served at room temperature.
EnjoY!

The 2 randomly selected winners of the "favorite kitchen tool" contest are Gerri from Pittsburgh who said her "Pampered Chef bread knife" was her favorite, & Allison Hodges who "can't live without her Le Creuset Dutch oven".
Please contact me with your addresses, so you can receive the Black & Decker chopper!

Thanks everyone for your awesome comments. I loved reading them all.