By The Associated Press For Labor Day, serve pasta
with a no-cook sauce. Made with a few simple in-
gredients, including toma- toes, blue cheese and
fi-esh basil, the following recipe is both easy and
inexpensive to prepare.
: Labor Day
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 veg- etable 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 serv- ing.
Note: Use the smallest leaves of the basil for this
recipe. If the leaves are longer than 1 inch, tear
them in half crosswse be- fore adding to the tomato
mix- ture.
Option: Grill 8 to 12 ounces boneless, skinless
chicken breasts. Cool 5 minutes after cooking, then
cut into thin strips. Toss chicken while stil warm
with the pasta salad. Serve im- mediately.
