The Times Two Tomato Salad

 It's summer and that means a good pasta salad. One that's interesting and a different spin on the classic recipe is Ali Slagle's two tomato salad published Wednesday in the New York Times Food section.it's combining pasta and the fruit of the season into something new.

The recipe intrigued me so i wanted to give ti a try. I added my own spin. Ms. Slagle suggests a "long" pasta like linguine or fusilli. I like a short ,nubby pasta for my salad. I chose

These cooked up nicely and when cooked provided a tasty little bite.

The next step is combining coarsely chopped  vine ripened tomatoes (I used five )

.These are mixed with cut sun dried tomatoes. Ms. Slagle uses the kind packed in oil.I added my own oil as the cut sun dried tomatoes had to be cooked.

This should be sauteed in oil and garlic however I had no desire of more cooking in a hot kitchen. I went the microwave way. The tomatoes was liberally doused with oil and garlic powder before they were cooked.

The tomatoes were  microwaved for three minutes and then mixed with the other tomatoes and pasta.

I made this in the early afternoon. Right before serving I added a cup of shredded basil as required. However the recipe also called for adding nuts like almonds or pine nuts. I thought it should have a Neopolitan bread salad vibe so I added crunchy croutons.

They're just as crunchy as nuts and give the entire salad a fun texture. These are added individually.

The basil also adds to it,These are the leaves I just picked from my garden and they cut the acidity with their fresh greenness.

My version was a pretty good  take. I liked the amalgam of textures along with the married flavor of the two tomatoes. The croutons gave it crunch but also the taste of the bread salad. You could add some vinegar but there's really no need.It was just perfect as is.

This is the perfect salad for the holiday and the rest of the summer. It's a nice change up from the usual pasta based ones. It's cool, tasty and easy to make - perfect for a hot sweltery day.