Hello, Happy Sunday! Today I have a really simple recipe that is made great by fresh pesto. I harvested quite a bit of basil from my garden, so much so that the only way to use it up quickly is to make pesto. This basil went from growing in the garden to lovingly coating pasta in about 30 minutes. So let’s get right to it!
The Summary
Today we are making Pesto Pasta with Tomato Salad
Be sure to find the shoppable key ingredients and equipment at the end of the post
Pesto Pasta with Tomato Salad
1. Basil Pesto
The trick to keeping the pesto bright green is to blanch the basil leaves for 30 seconds in boiling water and then quickly transferring the blanched leaves to an ice bath.
Once that’s done, squeeze water out of the basil leaves and add them to a food processor with toasted pine nuts, kosher salt, and garlic. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Then transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the parmesan cheese. Taste and season with more kosher salt if needed.
Set the pesto aside. Set a pot with 3 quarts of water to boil.
2. Tomato Salad
Now we can get to work on the tomato salad. You can use grape tomatoes, sliced in half, if you like. Toss the tomato pieces in a bowl with about 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar. Then add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toss to coat. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Stir in about 1-2 teaspoons of minced parsley. Set the tomato salad aside.
3. Make the Pasta
Salt the pasta water with about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. You can use whatever pasta shape you like. Cavatappi, spaghetti, and linguini are good options. I am using a small twisted shape called Strozzapreti. It’s typical of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
Once the pasta is cooked to al dente, scoop out 1.5 cups of the pasta cooking water and set aside, then drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot and set the heat to low.
Add the pesto to the pot along with about ½ cup of the pasta water. Stir vigorously to create a creamy sauce, adding more pasta water as needed to keep the pasta loose and creamy. Then cut the heat.
Portion the pasta into wide shallow bowls.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop portions of the tomato salad to top each serving of pasta. Sprinkle fresh cracked black pepper and parmesan on top.
Pesto Pasta with Tomato Salad
And that’s it!
I love, love, love pasta! This fresh basil pesto pasta is so fresh and bright – perfect for summer. The dressed tomatoes add just the right amount of vinegary bite and overall the dish is savory and rich, yet light.
Such a perfectly simple weeknight dinner. And a great way to enjoy fresh summer basil. I do hope you make this dish, I know you will enjoy it! Take care and be well, xo Kelly
Key Ingredients and Equipment
14-cup Food Processor | Strozzapreti Pasta | Three Piece Angled Measuring Cup Set | Spider Skimmer
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