A Southern Italian Summer Pasta Salad.
It's summer in Italy and even here in the north where I live, the temperatures can get up to 40 degrees celsius! So, it's pasta salad time! This pasta salad crudaiola Barese, also called pasta alla crudaiola, is an incredibly versatile and healthy dish. You can eat it as a one-plate light meal, as part of a cold buffet or at a picnic.
A patriotic pasta salad!
Pasta salad crudaiola Barese is super simple. It’s a white, red and green dish, which for me are the ubiquitous colours of Italian cuisine. Italians call these colours ‘il tricolore’ because they are, in fact, the colours of the Italian flag. There are other dishes that make use of these colours. Think Caprese salad! Patriotic cooking!
This pasta salad recipe comes from Bari in Puglia. It is made with fresh cherry tomatoes, a clove or 2 of garlic, fresh basil, a sprinkling of hard ricotta called Marzotica (or ricotta salata) and lots of extra virgin olive oil.
There are many types of pasta that go well in crudaiola Barese. Italians usually make pasta salad with short pasta. I have found recipes for this dish with the most popular and traditional pasta in Puglia such as orecchiette, sedani and cavatelli. I used sedani rigati.
Crudaiola Barese is best kept simple.
One could almost call this a ‘non-recipe’ because it is so easy to do. Apparently, in Bari, pasta alla crudaiola is a very common and popular dish. However, I have read that some chefs and restaurants now vary the ingredients slightly, perhaps to make it look or sound more elegant or sophisticated. Personally, I love the simple original recipe.
Of course, the local ingredients used in Puglia; such as the type of olive oil, hard ricotta and tomatoes, give this dish a particular flavour which is difficult to produce exactly unless you have those actual ingredients.
However, I have made this recipe with the tomatoes, olive oil and hard ricotta which I can buy here in the north and the result is divine! Some years, I'm able to use my homegrown cherry tomatoes and basil which makes this dish really special! If you can't find hard ricotta or ricotta salata, you can also make pasta salad crudaiola Barese with aged feta!
I think the most important thing is that the ingredients are of good quality, fresh and, if possible, organic.
Whichever cheese you chose, I’m sure you’ll love this simple tasty pasta salad crudaiola Barese. If you give it a try, do let me know how it turns out, either by commenting below or on the Pasta Project Facebook page. And if you feel it’s worth sharing with friends please do.
All your feedback and support is much appreciated!
Buon Appetito
Other pasta salad recipes to enjoy
- Casarecce pasta caponata recipe from Sicily
- Tuna and pesto malloreddus from Sardinia
- Italian shrimp and asparagus farfalle
- Green pasta salad with edible flowers
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This recipe was originally published in 2017 but it has been updated.
Pasta Salad Crudaiola Barese
Ingredients
- 350 g Sedani rigati or Orecchiette (12oz) I used sedani rigati from Valle del Grano
- 12-15 cherry tomatoes
- 6-8 basil leaves
- 250 g Marzotica ricotta or cacioricotta (9oz) hard ricotta from Southern Italy or ricotta salata
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- Extra virgin olive oil as required
- salt for pasta and to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper. to taste
Instructions
2 hours before cooking
- Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them into small pieces.
- Peel the clove of garlic and chop it well. (some people omit the garlic and others keep it whole and remove it before serving the pasta)
- Put the tomatoes, garlic and some of the basil in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and a good amount of olive oil.
- Add a good amount of grated ricotta on top but don’t mix it with the tomatoes.
- Seal the bowl with cling film and leave it in the fridge for about 2 hours.
Finish the dish
- Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente in boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet.
- Remove the tomato mixture from the fridge and take out the basil leaves which will have become soft and replace them with chopped fresh ones.
- Drain the pasta well, let it cool for a minute and add it to the tomato mixture.
- Add more grated ricotta, a dash of olive oil, ground pepper if required, mix well and serve.
Notes
You can use other types of short tubular pasta in this recipe, such as penne.
GUNJAN C Dudani says
Pasta anything and anytime is always welcome in my family. Its our comfort food. This recipe is on my to do list for lunch tomorrow.
Aditi Bahl says
I tried this recipe and it came out just lovely. The flavors were new for our palate but everyone just love it. Saved it to my regular recipe pins too.
Ramona says
This Crudaiola Barese pasta looks super flavoursome and delicous! I love making pasta for my family and they love them to. The combinations in this pasta make me drool. This recipe would be a perfect way to try something new for both me and my family! I cant wait to try it out, thank you for sharing this recipe.
Kushigalu says
This pasta salad looks so colorful and refreshing. I am pasta lover and can have it anytime of the day. I will soon try this version
Uma Srinivas says
Pasta salad looks so simple and delicious. Perfect as side dish! I love this kind of simple and light meal 🙂
Amy Liu Dong says
To be honest, pasta dish is my favorite thing. We can never go wrong with pasta, if I may say. This recipe looks really awesome and gives you the feeling of wanting it every time.
Kay says
This pasta recipe looks great, love the Italian colours, we love using basil in our recipes and it always goes well with pasta dishes
Will have to try this out very soon
Thanks for sharing 🙂
veenaazmanov says
Simple to make and combinations yum. Love to have it any day for Dinner. My happy meal option too.
Jacqui says
I agree Veena! This pasta salad is the perfect happy meal!
Emanuela says
I came to your blog and I liked it
Antoinette Sammut says
I came across your blog and would love to follow-up ....thks
admin says
Dear Antoinette, thank you for your comment. I am really happy that you would love to follow my blog. I have added you to our newsletter subscribers list. I write a newsletter once every couple of weeks or so to keep subscribers updated about new recipes and posts on The Pasta Project. If you haven't already you can also follow the Pasta Project page on Facebook so that you will get notifications of new posts through Facebook as well. I usually try to post 2-3 recipes or articles about different types of pasta every week, sometimes more. Please do share recipes or posts that you like, and I'm always happy to hear how the recipes you try turn out. All the best Jacqui.
Doris Borg says
Good morning! My family are lovers of pasta dishes. I'll be following your blog with great interest.
I love cooking too! I do a similar pasta salad, but here in Malta I use the local dry 'gbejna' (goat's cheeselet).
admin says
Hello Doris, I am very happy that you like my blog. I hope that you'll find lots of recipes here for your pasta loving family to enjoy. I try to add 2-3 recipes a week, but of course sometimes that's not possible. However, do please keep coming back as the number of posts and recipes will grow as I continue my journey through the wonderful world of Italian pasta! Pasta salad with 'gbejna' sounds delicious. I am not Maltese but I lived in Malta for many years and know and love your goat's cheese! If you do make any of my recipes, please feel free to let me have your comments and post photos on my facebook page. All the best. Jacqui