If this pesto pasta salad doesn’t shout “summer is almost here!” then I will amplify it by also shouting that summer is here. Well, almost here, but the weather is starting to feel like August in NYC. It’s the first week of June and temps are already reaching mid-nineties.
Here in NYC, summers can be sweltering hot. Air conditioning is a highly coveted resource. Especially on public transit.
Sometimes I forget just how simple food can be. We are consistently inundated by images of fast food and subsequent ads, that we forget how easy it is to whip up a cold pasta salad. Even with pesto, you only need a few ingredients and you have a fast sauce.
For my pesto, I replaced the parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast gives the meal your preparing, a chees-like flavor without the dairy. Nutritional yeast is literally a super food containing protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidents. Studies have shown it has a wide range of potential health benefits, ranging from lowering cholesterol to protecting the body from free radical damage.
I find my mini-food processor to be the best thing ever. Perfect for those 2 cup recipes. I even make my famous (in my mind) hummus in the mini. As a single person, I try to prepare enough food to last a day or two. The mini-food processor does the job!
If you like my summer basil pesto pasta salad, you might also like these salads:
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Basil Pesto Linguine Summer Salad
Description
A light, fresh cold pasta salad with basil pesto.
Ingredients
What you will need
- linguine pasta
- avocado
- chickpeas
- cherry tomatoes
- kale
- red onion
- peas
- flat leaf parsely, fresh
- fresh basil
- nutrional yeast
- garlic
- olive oil
- lemon
- salt and pepper
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- small food processor
- sharp knife
- cutting board
- strainer
- boiling pot
- tongs or serving forks
Basil Pesto
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 small clove of garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon nutrional yeast
- pinch of salt and pepper
Pasta Salad
- 1 box of linguine
- 12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
- generous handful of chopped parsley
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas
- 1 cup of fresh or frozen peas, thawed
- 1 large avocado, cubed
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
How to make basil pesto
- Add basil, clove of garlic, pine nuts, nutrional yeast and olive oil to a mini-food processor.
- Process the ingredients until the leaves and pine nuts are finely chopped. Taste. Add salt and pepper if needed.
How to make pasta pesto salad
- Fill a large pot with water just above the halfway mark. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then add the pasta.
- Cook pasta until al dente. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
- In a large bowl, toss together the pasta and pesto until well combined.
- Toss in the halved tomatoes, parsley, peas, red onions, and chickpeas. Add lemon juice.
- Gently toss in the avocado.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsely.
- Enjoy!!
You can use wet or dry pasta with this salad. Just remember that when your cooking wet pasta, it doesn’t need as much time. A few minutes will do.
[…] Basil Pesto Linguine Summer Salad […]