Smoky Heirloom Tomato and Grilled Peach Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette.
Time to eat pretty food!
Here’s the truth: I only started to enjoy tomatoes because a few summers ago I thought the heirloom variety was so pretty and I wanted to eat pretty things. And I wanted to be cool and sophisticated and eat pretty tomatoes for dinner. Like pretty tomatoes covered in salt and pepper and balsamic glaze with maybe some cheese and basil.
And that’s that. I essentially forced myself into eating them until I loved them. Which is what I’ve have to do with most vegetables, and “love” is a very strong term. But that’s another story for a different day.
I mean how can you pass up funny looking guys like this that have stripes and multicolored skin?
You can’t.
That’s what happened to me. They are just drop dead gorgeous.
This salad is me hanging on to summer. Yesterday it was around 65 degrees here and I could shout from the rooftops how much I adore that temperature. It’s my ideal. Breezy and cool with some sun. I’m so down.
BUT. I’m not ready to let go of tomatoes and corn and all things that come along with the horrific humidity here in these warm months. As much as I love comfort food, I seriously freak over snacky-type meals that include summer produce. And the thing is, I’m not even a pasta salad lover. Which is why I wanted to make one that forced me to become a lover. MY kind of pasta salad.
This is it.
[I almost put blueberries in it. I refrained. Thought it was a little much. Want all the blueberries. Can’t stop watching the you tube bluuuuueberries video. Tell me you’ve seen it. That might be the problem.]
In full disclosure, Whole Foods actually provided me with a gift card so I could get some of these vibrant beauties, and I could not turn that down since, um, has a day gone by that I have not mentioned my insane obsession with tomatoes and corn to my invisible internet friends? No. I don’t think it has because most days I don’t have anything else to talk about. And all I think of is dinner.
Plus, Whole Foods is the only place I can get tomatoes this stunning… and it’s about 40 minutes away. WAH. You can’t even imagine how much I stocked up.
My initial plan was to make this corn tart with heirlooms. WHAT. Does it get any better? My two fixations in ONE dish. Hello heaven. But I figured I’d attempt to step outside of the box and be a bit more creative so I could use the heirlooms and share a recipe with you. I still incorporated grilled corn because, well, you’re just not getting out of any more recipes without it from me. But I grilled some peaches while I was at it and threw in some bacon. And cheese! All the cheese. I was seconds away from tossing in some avocado but wanted this salad to last a few days without any browning. Do it if you’d like. It’s unreal.
This just has so much stuff that I love. GAH. Freaking out.
Smoky Heirloom Tomato and Grilled Peach Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole wheat pasta, like ziti or rigatoni
- 2 ears sweet corn
- 2 peaches, sliced in half and pits removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 medium heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges or chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil and prepare pasta according to directions. While pasta is cooking, preheat the grill to medium-high. Brush the corn and peach halves with the olive oil, then place them directly on the grates. Grill the peaches for 1 to 2 minutes, until grill marks appears, and rotate the corn until the kernels are golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the corn and peaches and sprinkle them and the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Cut the corn off of the cob.
- Make the vinaigrette by adding the basil and vinegar to a food processor and blending until the basil is in tiny pieces and the mixture is combined. Stream in the olive oil and puree until combined. Season with salt and pepper and blend to mix.
- Add the pasta to a large bowl and pour the vinaigrette on top. Mix thoroughly until the pasta is coated, then stir in the tomatoes, peaches and corn. Add in the feta, onions and bacon, mixing until combined. Add a few basil leaves on top if desired and serve. This works if the pasta is still warm, but I like sticking it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so until the pasta is chilled.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
p.s. I have one big heirloom left so I think we can obviously guess what I’m doing. It begins with a B and ends with a T.
[thanks to Whole Foods for sponsoring this post & providing me with a $50 gift card to purchase the heirloom tomatoes for this recipe!]
76 Comments on “Smoky Heirloom Tomato and Grilled Peach Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette.”
I am in southern hemisphere so corn and tomatoes come in in late November. I have been drooling over your recipes, so I am sadden you will not be able to do more combs with corn, tomatoes and fruit! Wow your salad is gorgeous, if i could eat this all day I would (beside cake of course)
I cannot find heirlooms anywhere! I am SO jealous it is not even funny. I have been looking all summer and notta! Ugh.
But this pasta salad is amazing. I love the grilled peaches!
That is such a beautiful dish. I love the colors and textures of it! I spotted some heirloom tomatoes at the store last week: now I have an excuse to buy them. :) Thanks!
The tomatoes are gorgeous! Great salad!
I’ve got a Whole Foods gift card too…now I’ve got a reason to make the drive. Hoping I can find some equally gorgeous tomatoes.
Beautiful salad but sort of craving the sandwich. I just finished curing some maple bourbon bacon and these tomatoes would be a fitting companion!
Beautiful! Heirloom tomatoes are my favorite. I planted several this year in the garden (full size and baby—yum!!!). I was going to make a tart for dinner with mine, but this looks much easier. I am just going to have to add in proscuitto in place of the bacon though, because I’m out (gasp!).
The blueberry you tube video is hilarious. Love it!
I think instead of blueberries, the next recipe needs to be a sweet tomato recipe of some kind. Hmmm……
Those tomatoes are stunning
Yum! I love summer tomatoes. Love the basil vinaigrette and the bacon!
Um, you are a super genius woman! That is all.
this looks AH-mazing. and it’s been cooler here too and I LOVE it. though, I’d like to hang onto the produce and summer light.
I bought some of those beauties at WF as well! They’re just so pretty! I ate one raw and roasted the other, and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar. Yum-o.
This salad looks gorgeous. We have heirlooms and corn like crazy at our farmers market (hello iowa). I will have to pick some up this weekend so I can make this. Oh and feta + bacon too… need this in my life!!!
Off to check out this blueberry youtube video (what is it?)…
Never would have thought of putting all of these flavors in a pasta dish! The peaches look so smoky and caramelized. Love it. An heirloom tomato shopping spree is my kind of shopping spree! I always have to get mine either at Whole Foods or the farmer’s market—TJ’s has some too occasionally?
This looks completely fantastic! I am so not ready for summer to be over, especially because this year it’s been pretty mild. I still have 2 months worth of peaches that I need to buy + consume!
This is just beaut
Ugh. Lovely iPhone wouldn’t let me doing my post.
Anywayyyy…. these colors are so vibrant and beautiful! Everything I would want in a heirloom salad and more. Especially if it includes corn. Gimme gimme.
this sounds wonderful! and its sooooooo pretty! I have a whole foods 10 minutes away and have probably only walked in twice. Im probably missing out on something greeeeeat.
If you need me I’ll be at the bottom of that bowl.
I’m so jealous of the heirlooms. They are gorgeous! I’ve been searching everywhere for heirlooms this summer with no luck. The combination of peaches,tomatoes and feta sounds delicious.
I was sold at “smoky heirloom tomato” – yum.
PS. I now have a cast iron skillet on my b-day wish list, thanks to you and your blog. ;-)
Looks AMAZE! And that is exactly how I came to love tomatoes too! You should make Green Goddess dressing to go with these tomatoes. You will honestly think that you were born loving tomatoes after eating it. I promise!
I love heirloom tomatoes and pasta salad just screams summer to me, And of course the bacon and feta just make everything better. I’d love to try this with goat cheese too!
This is a gorgeous salad, and heirlooms completely make me feel like a kid in a candy store with those vibrant colors. I grab them at the farmer’s markets because they’re so eye catching and delicious!
Gahhh peaches in pasta?! Never have I ever!
3rd pic down – reminds me of the cover of Martha Stewart Living this month! So pretty, Jessica!
That’s a really unique idea to add peaches! I’ve been adding more fruit to any type of salad lately and it’s really really good! Can’t wait to try them grilled!
This is so perfect! Last week I got some mini-heirlooms (for a lover of cute food I highly recommend you try them) and every time I ate them I couldn’t help but think of peaches. So yesterday I went to the farmers market and loaded up so I could try to come up with a recipe that incorporated both. i had originally planned on some sort of salsa, but this sounds MUCH better. I am definitely going to make this tonight. Thanks so much for perfect recipe at the perfect time :)
Dude. DUDE. I LOOOOOOOOVE me some mac salad, and this one looks so good that you could totally eat it with a side of chips and salsa (duh because I’m doing that with all my meals right now) and you would be in HEAVEN.
Wait–this really is like the prettiest pasta salad I’ve ever seen. I saw those gorg tomatoes today at Whole Foods…shoulda snagged some!
This looks gorgeous! I have yet to get my hands on some heirloom tomatoes but I am thinking that I am going to need to make this happen ASAP!
I’ve been emailing your blog link around my office because everyone has been talking about good salad recipes for the summer and homemade dressings, and then I ramble and talk about your blog for about 10 minutes with all of your recipes I’ve tried hehe…hope this finds you some new followers! :)
This is a totally fabulous summer meal! LOVE!
I am a serious tomato hater unless they are giant homegrown (or farmers market) heirlooms or cherry tomatoes. I don’t touch a single tomato before June or after September! This salad is perfect and makes me want summer to never enddddd.
I”m so glad you stepped outside of the box! This recipe is perfect for summer and I swoon over it!
This looks sooo delicious! Great post :)
ohhh delish!! tomatoes don’t really sit well in my tummy BUT this looks fantastic! PINNINGGG
The whole salad looks absolutely gorgeous!! Especially the tomatos
Jessica, I like your blog and loved it on blogionaire.com
I love everything about this salad! Gorgeous!
I want some of those cute tomatoes too too bad i cant find it in hk :(
I am so making this tonight!!! Our tomatoes are doing wonderful this year. The purple red and green tomato is called cherokee purple and it taste incredible.
So happy you shared this recipe!!
The only thing worse than having to drive 30 minutes to Whole Foods is having one basically across the street. Fab for food; painful for the pocketbook!
It’s so beautiful! Definitely a must make before summer ends!
This is completely gorgeous Jessica
What kind of whole wheat pasta do you use? The pasta in the salad does not look like it’s whole wheat. Can you recommend a tasty one that isn’t too chewy?
i almost always use delallo’s whole wheat pasta – most grocery stores have it! this is actually the whole foods 365 brand whole grain pasta – it is very weird how it appears but it was pretty good! i don’t live close enough to have this brand all the time though. i also use my local grocery stores brand – market district – a lot of the time too!
Oh I need this in my life ASAP. I have all ingredients on hand so maybe I’ll make it tonight for dinner :)
“Invisible internet friends”??? C’mon, I definitely just referred to you as my “best friend” while discussing roasted corn…
What a perfect summer salad!
this looks amazing! savory and sweet is always sooooo good!!
This looks amazing! Where did you get those beautiful heirloom tomatoes?!?!
I wouldn’t have thought to include both peaches and tomatoes in a recipe like this, but somehow it seems so obvious that they’d go together. Especially with the bacon! Yum! For the record this temperature is soo good for me too. I’ll get up on the rooftop with you to girl!