Pasta salad with pesto alla Genovese
Pasta salad with pesto alla Genovese: We are very proud of the fact that we make you as close to the real pesto alla Genovese as possible. This means that our pesto contains only basil, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, Parmesan and pecorino cheeses and ‘toasted’ pine nuts.
We have seen pesto alla Genovese that include ingredients such as spinach, cashew nuts, sunflower oil and so on, all of which result in a pesto that falls very far from the authentic recipe for pesto alla Genovese.
When you serve our pesto alla Genovese with our homemade pasta, we guarantee that it will be a dish comparable to any you will be served in Italy. In fact, that is our quest!
Our recipe for pasta salad with pesto alla Genovese is a simple one and one that can be lifted with a great many different ingredients such as roasted peppers or tomatoes, green beans, olives, zucchini and peas. Of course that list is endless and we’re sure that you have a few ideas of your own. Meanwhile, let’s start with a backdrop. I make my own pesto (here’s my favorite pesto recipe), but once or twice I’ve fallen back on store-bought pesto, and the pasta salad is still almost as good.
If you like your pasta salad more complicated, by all means add more stuff – little balls of mozzarella, capers, a few chopped bell peppers, olives, all those would go very well with the pesto and cherry tomatoes. I prefer the plainer version. Why? See number 1 above.
Pasta salad with pesto alla Genovese and cherry tomatoes – Serves 4 – 6
- 1 lb dried fusilli, radiatore or trottole
- 1 x6 oz jar Pasta Nostra pesto alla Genovese at room temperature
- 11/2 lb cherry tomatoes, halved and kept at room temperature, sprinkled with a little salt and black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.
- Drain the pasta and cool it down in cool running water. Drain it again and toss the pasta in the lemon juice and olive oil.
- Add the pesto to the pasta and mix well.
- Add the tomatoes to the pasta and mix well.
- Serve at room temperature.
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