Pesto Pasta Salad

This is another one of my stolen cafe salads. I fell in love with this about 12 years ago and love taking it to picnics or packed lunch somewhere. It keeps really well, isn't that time consuming and a definite hit at BBQ s.

I do make my own pesto for this and think it makes a difference in the overall taste.

If you want, you can add some shredded chicken breast but its quite filling on its own.

Ingredients

Pesto

2 bunches of basil, leaves only

85 g pine nuts, toasted

120 g Parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves

100 ml Olive oil

Salad

500g pene pasta

1/2 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced

85g pine nuts

1/2 cup chopped parsley

2 Tbs basil pesto

100g of semi dried tomatoes, chopped (use the oil for dressing)

20g olives, sliced

oil from the semi dried tomatoes (see pic)

Method

For the pesto, put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until combined. Don't blitz it too much, you still want to see some texture!

For the salad, cook pasta and stir through pesto. Add other ingredients and oil from sun dried tomtos and stir through.

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Tips

Serve at room temperature.

Add extra olive oil to lubricate the salad if needed.

#pasta #salad