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This cherry tomato confit pasta salad takes the classic cookout side to a whole new level. Slow-roasted tomatoes are tossed with sweet caramelized leeks, golden pan-seared halloumi, and a bright red wine vinegar dressing finished with fresh herbs and crunchy pistachios.
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What makes this dish special
I've never been a big fan of pasta salad. Pasta covered in mayonnaise with small morsels of vegetables just doesn't toot my horn. However, this quickly changed when I tried pasta salad at a quaint little deli. With the right amount of vinegar, olive oil, and a hefty amount of fresh herbs and vegetables, this side dish can easily become the star.
I wanted to put the phrase "farm to table" in full effect with this recipe by using the flavors of cherry tomatoes to season the pasta. Introducing cherry tomato confit pasta salad with caramelized leeks, pan-seared halloumi, fresh parsley, basil, and pistachios. This dish is a winner, even to a pasta-salad-hater like myself. In fact, it's now in my top three, along with this romesco orzo pasta salad and Mediterranean shrimp pasta salad!
Recipe
Cherry Tomato Confit Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Cherry tomato confit
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3 sprigs thyme
Pasta salad
- 1 pound fusilli pasta
- 2 leeks
- 8 ounces halloumi
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
- ¼ cup pistachios chopped
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Toss together cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until softened, stirring halfway through.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions on the box. Drain pasta, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Toss with 1 teaspoon oil.
- Prepare the leeks. Cut top green stalks off and discard. Slice white stems in half lengthwise and wash in between the layers. Thinly slice leeks into half-moon slices. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add leeks and saute until browned and caramelized. If the pan becomes too dry, reduce heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of water. Remove from heat.
- In the same pan, add halloumi and fry on both sides until golden brown. Remove from heat and cut into bite-size chunks.
- Drain roasted tomatoes, reserving the oil. Whisk together oil with red wine vinegar, juice of ½ lemon, sugar, salt, and pepper. Toss together fusilli with caramelized leeks, halloumi, cherry tomato confit, oil dressing, fresh herbs, and pistachios. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Make tomato confit
Tomato confit or confits, in general, take a long time to prepare. The idea behind confit is to cook an item slowly over a long period of time in fat.
I still remember the first time I prepared duck confit while I was attending the Culinary Institute of America. You are essentially cooking duck in duck fat at a low temperature for several hours. Once cooked, the meat is cooled and packed in its own fat, a great way of preserving the duck.
Since then, I've applied this method to other items. When I was a private chef, I would often prepare confit mushrooms as a side dish, and they always received high praise. Today, we're switching it up and using tomatoes.
I know I just went into detail about how confit is done slowly on low heat, but let's be real, we're making a pasta salad. I didn't want to wait 2-3 hours for my tomatoes to be ready, so I went the quick route and increased the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
Ready in about 40 minutes, these tomatoes are just as flavor-packed as the original method.
Step 2: Prepare toppings
While the tomatoes are cooking, prepare everything else for the tomato confit pasta salad. Cook the noodles, caramelize the leeks, pan-sear the halloumi, and chop the fresh herbs.
You can use any type of short-cut pasta, including but not limited to macaroni, orzo, bow-tie, or fusilli.
Halloumi is one of my favorite cheeses because when you cook it, the outside becomes crispy and beautifully golden. This semi-hard cheese has a high melting point, which makes it fantastic when fried or grilled.
Do you know the crispy edges of grilled cheese? Imagine that, but on the entire surface of the cheese. Heaven.
Step 3: Putting it all together
Toss everything together, including the oils and juices from the tomatoes, and finish seasoning the pasta salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
I've served this cherry tomato confit pasta salad cold and at room temperature and enjoyed both. This salad is anything but heavy and yet still so flavorful, with every component playing in its favor. This just may be the only way to eat pasta salad.
For another recipe featuring summer tomatoes, check out this heirloom tomato galette with labneh and hot honey!
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: The pasta salad can be made ahead of time and served cold or at room temperature.
- Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More summer side dish recipes
Looking for more summer side dish ideas? Try these:
Work with me
All images shot and styled by Christine Ma. Available for food photography, styling, and recipe development.
Sheri says
This was very good. HEB was out of Halloumi so I tried to sub with The Moo cheese. It was awful so I just picked it out. Otherwise, this recipe is delicious! Might try again if I can find Halloumi.
Cherry on My Sundae says
I'm glad the recipe was still despite that cheese!