Lunch for the week: Tomato, mozzarella, and salami pasta salad

One of my favorite food blogs is The Kitchen Sink -- the food photos are scrumptious, the writing is unpretentious, and I end up starring a lot of the recipes in my Reader to try later. One such recipe was Tomato, mozzarella, and salami pasta salad. Since it's best eaten cold, I thought that it would be perfect to make on Sunday night and eat for lunch the rest of the week.

The dish turned out really well. The vinegar-based dressing is tangy and tasty, and all of the elements go together nicely. I got to feature my favorite tomato -- Sungold -- plus one of my favorite pork products -- Salami. One change I'll probably make next time I fix this dish will be to use thicker slices of salami. The meat I used was very thinly sliced which caused the pieces to stick together, resulting in clumps of salami throughout the salad. I'd also like to find pearl-sized mozzarella, but I had to make do with larger balls that I tore apart by hand.

Tomato, mozzarella, and salami pasta salad
from The Kitchen Sink

1 pound whole wheat short pasta (I used penne)
1 pint cherry tomatoes (I used sungold)
1 cup pearl-sized mozzarella
1/4 pound salami, cut into strips
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, julienned
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Boil the pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, whisk together the vinegar, oil, mustard, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, mozzarella, salami, onion, and basil. Add drained pasta, mix, and serve warm or chilled.