Rainbow Pistachio Pesto Pasta Salad
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 16 oz. package of spiral pasta like fusilli or rotini (I used a traditional spiral rainbow pasta)
  • 1 8oz. package of fresh mozzarella balls (cherry tomato size)
  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
  • For the pistachio pesto:
  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed
  • ½ cup raw shelled pistachios
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan
  • ½ cup of olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Boil the pasta according to instructions for al dente (usually about 8 minutes). Drain the pasta and set aside in a bowl.
  2. While the pasta is boiling, make the pesto. Start by combining the basil and pistachios in the food processor and pulse several times. Then add the garlic, cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pulse a few more times. Turn the food processor on the low setting and while it's running add the olive oil slowly. Doing it slowly helps keep the oil from separating. After adding the oil, taste for seasoning. Add more salt to taste.
  3. Add the pesto sauce to the pasta a little at a time and toss. The amount you add depends how much pesto flavor you want (aka how green you want it). You can eat this warm, but I also like to put i the fridge to chill to serve as a cold pasta salad.
  4. Add in the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls and gently toss altogether. Enjoy!
Recipe by Six Snippets at https://www.sixsnippets.com/rainbow-pistachio-pesto-pasta-salad/