Turning the dirty martini into the perfect pasta salad

I’m easily influenced by the cooking videos that come across my various social media feeds. Are you making a wrap out of blended cottage cheese and egg? Smashing ground beef into tortillas to make smash burger tacos? Incorporating three pounds of cheese into your trending pan of macaroni and cheese? I want to make it all for dinner.

Although I don’t know that I’ve rushed to the grocery store faster than when I came across a dirty martini pasta salad on Instagram. It was shared by Emma’s Olives, an olive company started by Canadian influencer Emma Rose Leger.

Leger sells an olive brine martini mixer that I use to make dirty martinis. It has a clean, salty olive flavor that perks up a vodka or gin martini. I sometimes sip it on its own.

The pasta salad combines the olive brine mixer, olive oil and lemon zest to create a simple but effective dressing. The essence of a dirty martini is there in both taste and aroma with the bright, briny olive juice and enough citrus to evoke my preferred martini lemon-peel garnish.

You can use any pasta shape you like, chopped feta cheese and diced green olives. The Emma’s Olive recipe calls for the brand’s Castelvetrano olives. They’re meaty, fruity and ideal for the salad. I like to add grated garlic and a splash of red wine vinegar for extra punch. But for the pure taste of a dirty martini in a bowl of pasta, try the original recipe below.

I made the salad when the temperature hovered around 90 degrees and I couldn’t bear to cook or eat anything warmer than room temperature. And I ended up eating it for lunch and dinner. It takes 10 minutes to make and serves four to six people.

Cook 12 ounces of pasta in a big pot of boiling salted water according to the package’s direction. Drain and add it to a large bowl. Add 1 cup Castelvetrano olives (pitted and ciced), 1 cup of diced feta, 1½ ounces of olive oil, 1 cup of Emma’s Olives olive brine martini mixer and the grated zest of one lemon. Stir and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Here are three more quick and easy pasta salads to make all summer long.

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Tahini-herb pasta salad

Tahini creates a creamy, vegan sauce for pasta, fresh herbs and chickpeas. Without dairy, this makes the perfect, portable addition to any potluck or picnic.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 30 minutes. Serves 4

(Mark Weinberg)

Thai Pork Jerky Pasta Salad

Former cooking editor Genevieve Ko’s jerky salad incorporates your favorite beef or pork jerky and bright lime leaves. She suggests picking up freshly made, deep-fried pork jerky at your local Thai market. You can even make the salad with shredded chicken.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 30 minutes. Serves 6 to 8

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Kale Pasta Salad With Parmesan and Smoked Almonds

Former cooking columnist Ben Mims originally shared this recipe at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when most of us were looking for fast, easy meals to make at home. This salad has been a favorite ever since. I crave the suggested combination of kale, Parmesan and smoked almonds, but you can swap out the cheese for anything you have in the fridge. And feel free to add leftover proteins and vegetables too.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 20 minutes. Serves 2 to 4

Kale pasta salad with smoked almonds and Parmesan cheese from Ben Mims.

(Ben Mims / Los Angeles Times)