Pesto Pasta Salad
User Reviews
5
Pesto Pasta Salad
Description
This Pesto Pasta Salad uses spiral pasta cooked slightly beyond al dente, cooled, and combined with a vibrant pesto made from toasted pine nuts, fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and optional Parmesan cheese. Thinly sliced zucchini and yellow squash add a crisp texture and fresh vegetable flavor.
The pesto provides a fragrant and herbaceous coating for the pasta, while the lemon juice brightens the salad. Toasted pine nuts sprinkled on top contribute a subtle nutty crunch, enhanced by fresh basil leaves. Optional red pepper flakes can add a mild heat element.
Served at room temperature, this salad works well as a side dish for grilled meats or as a light vegetarian main during warm weather. The recipe's thin vegetable slices are best prepared with a mandoline to maintain a tender bite without overpowering the pasta.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces spiral pasta such as cellentani, cavatappi, or fusilli
- ¾ cup pasta water
- 2 zucchini sliced into very thin rounds, small
- 1 yellow squash sliced into very thin rounds, small
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- 1 teaspoon salt sea salt
- black pepper freshly ground
- ¼ cup pine nuts toasted
- ½ cup basil fresh leaves
- red pepper flakes optional
Pesto
- ½ cup pine nuts toasted
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
- 1 garlic small clove
- ¼ teaspoon salt sea salt
- black pepper freshly ground
- 2 cups basil leaves
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese optional, freshly grated
Instructions
- Make the pesto: In a food processor, combine the pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper and pulse until well chopped. Add the basil and pulse to combine. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil and pulse until combined. Add the cheese, if using, and briefly pulse to combine. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package directions, or until slightly past al dente. Before draining the pasta, scoop up ¾ cup of the starchy pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta and toss it with a little olive oil so that it doesn’t stick together. Spread the pasta on a baking sheet and let it (and the reserved pasta water) cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl combine the pasta, zucchini, yellow squash, pesto, the reserved pasta water, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and toss. Season to taste. Top with the pine nuts, fresh basil, and red pepper flakes, if using. Serve the salad at room temperature.
Notes
- Use a mandoline slicer for uniformly thin rounds of zucchini and yellow squash to enhance raw texture.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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