Summer pasta with pesto tomatoes (Printable)

A light summer dish blending pasta, basil pesto, and ripe cherry tomatoes for fresh flavor.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 10.5 oz short pasta such as fusilli, penne, or farfalle
02 - Salt for boiling water

→ Pesto

03 - 1.75 oz fresh basil leaves
04 - 1.4 oz pine nuts, lightly toasted
05 - 1 garlic clove
06 - 1.75 oz parmesan cheese, grated
07 - 3.4 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
08 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Salad Add-ins

09 - 8.8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
10 - 1.75 oz baby arugula, optional
11 - 1 oz parmesan shavings for garnish
12 - Zest of 1 lemon

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool quickly. Set aside.
02 - While the pasta cooks, prepare the pesto. In a food processor, blend basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, and grated parmesan until finely chopped. Gradually add olive oil while blending until a smooth sauce forms. Season with salt and pepper.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled pasta, cherry tomatoes, and arugula if using.
04 - Add the pesto and toss thoroughly to coat. Adjust seasoning if needed.
05 - Transfer the salad to a serving platter. Top with parmesan shavings and lemon zest. Serve immediately, or chill for up to 2 hours before serving.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It actually tastes better the next day when flavors have time to become friends with each other.
  • You can make the pesto in under five minutes and feel like you've accomplished something real in the kitchen.
02 -
  • If you rinse the pasta in cold water, it stops cooking completely—this keeps it from turning mushy when the warm pesto touches it.
  • Pine nuts turn bitter the second they burn, so watch them like a hawk and toast them in a dry pan where you can hear and smell them.
03 -
  • Toast your pine nuts while you're waiting for water to boil so you're never standing around watching nothing happen.
  • If you don't have a food processor, you can mince everything by hand and still make excellent pesto—it just takes longer and your forearms will know about it.
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