Pesto pasta salad
Finally it feels a little like summer again here in Belgium. What better way to celebrate a bright and sunny day than with a fresh and simple pasta salad? This salad is vibrant green and full of flavor because of the homemade basil pesto and ripe cherry tomatoes. A true omage to summer!
This salad is also my got when I don’t know what to make and I don’t have a lot of time or when i’m not in the mood to cook. It really just has one step, toss everything together and serve.
How to make a perfect pasta salad:
Add cooked pasta of choice, I used rigatoni but any short pasta works, really! My favorite shapes for this are, fusilli, farfalle, orzo, conchigliette. Make sure to run the pasta under cold water after draining and coat with a light drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.
Add veggies, here I used cherry tomatoes, cucumber and baby greens. But cooked and cooled veggies are amazing too, think panfried courgette ot aubergine, delicious!
Add sauce/dressing, when it comes to salads, the dressing is everything! Try packing lots of flavor in your sauces to make a pasta salad delicious. Here I used the classic pesto which is always a winner.
Add a crunch or a touch of umami, i sprinkled this salad with shaved vegan parmesan for that extra umami, some toasted pine nuts would also work really well, which I forgot.
Pasta salad is really versatile so mix and match to your own taste.
I didn’t measure out any ingredients for this, so feel free to use your intuition! This really can’t go wrong!
Ingredients
Cooked pasta of choice
cherry tomatoes, halved
cucumbers, in chunks
fresh baby salad greens
basil pesto, homemade or storebought
Vegan parmesan shavings, this is my favorite vegan parmesan brand
Fresh herbs like scallions, parsley, basil, thinly sliced
How to
Toss all of the ingredients together and enjoy!
SHARING IS CARING!
Did you make this? Tag me @lunatrapani on instagram. Love to see your creations.
