Alison Roman spills the secrets on this summer-ready pasta salad that she says is more or less a "cold Amatriciana".

“This pasta salad kind of has a ‘cold Amatriciana’ feel to it, which, if you’ve ever eaten cold, leftover Amatriciana, you know is a very good thing,” says Alison Roman. “Amatriciana is a classic Roman-as-in-Rome pasta, made with cured pork, tomato and sometimes onion and pecorino. You can eat it immediately, but it’s truly better after a few hours, either cold or at room temp, a textbook example of a great ‘eat directly out of a container’ food. As always, she is flexible – skip the capers if you like, make it spicy or not, go cheeseless if you dare, use shallots instead of red onion – but resist the urge to throw in everything under the sun. This salad should be composed, elegant and focused, tasting of jammy tomatoes, summertime and secrets (sun-dried tomatoes).”

Ingredients
Serves 6–8

    • 450g (1lb) dried pasta (I like a short tube shape like campanelle, radiatori or rigatoni for this)
    • ½ small red onion, sliced (not too thin)
    • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • 60ml (2 fl oz/ 1/4 cup) olive oil, plus more as needed
    • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
    • chilli flakes, harissa or hot sauce – anything spicy
    • 450–675g (1–1½ lb) any type of tomatoes (I like the smaller ones on the vine), quartered
    • 80–160g (23/4–53/4 oz/½–1 cup) sun-dried tomatoes (!), chopped, sliced, whatever
    • 2 tablespoons capers, drained (optional)
    • 60–120g (2–4 oz) coarsely chopped pecorino or Parmesan cheese (about ½ cup) (optional) 

Method

Note:
I like using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (the oil is delicious and can be used to cook with), but the dry sun-dried tomatoes also work. There’s no need to replump or rehydrate them before using; they’ll do their thing in the skillet.

Do ahead:
The pasta salad can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated.

Eat with:
Spicy sausages, hot dogs and mustard, celery sticks dipped in ranch, beer on ice, cold red wine.

    1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta until just past al dente (it’s not getting cooked again, so it should be as tender as you want it in the end), drain and set aside. (The pasta should still be warm when you dress it, so don’t do this too far in advance.)
    2. Meanwhile, combine the onion and vinegar in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. (The onions are marinating rather than pickling, which feels like an important distinction to make!)
    3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, swirling the skillet occasionally, until the garlic is tender and just starting to brown, 3–4 minutes. Add your spicy something of choice (a sprinkle of chilli flakes, a dab of harissa, a few dashes of hot sauce), the fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, and the capers (if using) and season with salt and pepper.
    4. Cook, tossing and crushing occasionally, until the fresh tomatoes are just bursting and juicy, 5–8 minutes.
    5. Combine the pasta and tomato mixture in a large bowl. Add your onions, drizzle with more olive oil, and season again with salt, pepper and more of your spicy something. Toss, toss, toss, until every piece of pasta is evenly coated. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so and toss again. Think of it as marinated pasta, knowing that the flavour will change a bit as it sits.
    6. Top with lots of cheese, if you like, before eating, paired with a cold and effervescent drink.

Something From Nothing.

This is an edited extract from Something from Nothing by Alison Roman, published by Quadrille. Available in stores nationally including at great independent retailers such as Readings, Hill of Content and Books for Cooks. Photography by Chris Bernabeo.