Pasta Salad with Pesto

One of the dishes that I always crave during the summertime is pasta salad.  It is the perfect side for a picnic or BBQ or even a potluck.  I made this pasta salad several times this summer with my very own basil plant!  This early summer I planted my very first balcony garden, which is something that I've been meaning to do for a while now.  In early June, I went to the Jean-Talon Market and bought a few herbs, including Thai and Genovese basil, Italian parsley, and Provençal thyme.  To that, I also bought a Thai chili plant and a Sun Gold Hybrid cherry tomato plant to complete my patio garden.  I'm happy to say that my herbs were very bountiful, the Thai chilis were very colourful and spicy, and last but certainly not least, my cherry tomatoes were very sweet.

I was never one to be interested in gardening but as I learned more about cooking, I started to care more for the quality of my ingredients.  Caring for these plants and seeing them grow to later bear fruit was extremely gratifying.  For instance, when presenting this favourite pesto pasta salad to others, not only did I say that I made everything from scratch, including the pesto, but I can also be proud to say that I grew the basil myself!  These photos show the evolution of my balcony garden and I'm so happy I went through with this project.  I know that next spring I'll be looking forward to planning what I'll grow next.

On the left is my tomato plant when I first planted it and to the right is how much it grew after only 10 days.

This planter housed Italian parsley, Provençal thyme, and Thai chili.

Genovese and Thai basil day 1

 Basil 10 days later

The first tomatoes that ripened in July.                                     Green chilis that turned red in August.

Bountiful basil perfect for pesto.                                                      Golden tomatoes on the vine.

 Green to orange

 What a delicious treat.

 Gardening balcony success!

 As for the pasta salad, I recommend serving it under 2 hours after it is made.  Otherwise the flavours lose their punch and the texture of the pasta is less creamy.  The spinach is added to the pesto to preserve the pesto's bright green colour and the mayonaise may seem untraditional but it provides a creamy texture which allows the pesto to cling more easily onto the pasta.

 Freshly picked basil leaves

I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up a breeze.

This is where my food processor really came in handy.

Pasta Salad with Pesto

Ingredients

3/4 cup pine nuts

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

Table salt

1 pound Farfalle (bow ties) pasta

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus 1 additional tablespoon

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves 

1 cup baby spinach (packed)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon

3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in a large pot.  Toast pine nuts in oven at 300 F, stirring nuts occasionally, until just golden and fragrant, approximately 5 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to water, stir to separate, and cook until tender (just past al dente).  Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water, drain pasta, toss with 1 tablespoon oil, spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Place 1/4 cup nuts, garlic, basil, spinach, pepper, lemon juice, remaining 1/4 cup oil, and 1 teaspoon salt in bowl of food processor and process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.  Add cheese and mayonnaise and process until thoroughly combined.  Transfer mixture to large serving bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble salad.

When pasta is cool, toss with pesto, adding reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until pesto evenly coats pasta.  Fold in remaining 1/2 cup nuts and tomatoes; serve.

Source: adapted from Cook's Illustrated