Pasta Salad with Pesto
NOTE: Pesto is
a natural sauce for pasta salad because of its concentrated flavor.
But hot pasta can turn pesto sauce an unappealing greenish brown, a
problem that becomes even more noticeable if the salad is set aside
for some time before serving. In our testing, we found that adding
some parsley to pesto helps keep its color green without affecting
the flavor.
If you like, add cooked and cooled vegetables to this recipe. Broccoli florets are especially good, as are tomatoes. About three cups of cooked vegetables are enough for a pound of pasta. This is one pasta salad that can tolerate the addition of meat. If you like, add two cups of shredded cooked chicken. Fusilli is our first choice when saucing with pesto. Serves six to eight as a side dish.
3 medium garlic cloves, threaded on a skewer
2 cups fresh packed basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh flat Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound pasta
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Bring small saucepan of water to boil. Lower skewered garlic into water; boil until garlic is partially blanched, about 45 seconds. Immediately run cold water over garlic to stop the cooking. Remove from skewer; peel and mince.
2. Place basil and parsley in heavy-duty, quart-size, zipper-lock plastic bag; pound with flat side of meat pounder until all leaves are bruised.
3. Place garlic, herbs, nuts, oil, and pinch of salt in bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade; process until smooth, stopping as necessary to scrape down bowl with flexible spatula.
4. Transfer mixture to bowl large enough to hold cooked pasta, stir in cheese, and adjust salt. Cover and set aside.
5. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil for cooking pasta. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with pesto. Cool to room temperature and serve. (Pasta salad can be refrigerated for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before serving.)