This salad highlights many fresh flavours of the Mediterranean and is at its best when made with good-quality olive oil. To pit several olives at once, place them on a cutting board and lightly crush with the bottom of a small saucepan to expose pits before removing. Stir this salad lightly with a fork before serving to loosen the pasta.
I have to admit I've never understood the popularity of the "Sunday brunch" at otherwise decent restaurants—the lines are ridiculous, the food often subpar, and you know as well as me the waitstaff have plenty of better things to do (like nurse their own hangover). My indifference to this cultural phenomenon doesn't mean I don't love a pile of pancakes and a fried egg or two; it's just that I prefer them from the comfort of my own home.
