Pasta Salad with Pesto

Name: Pasta Salad with Pesto
Yield: Serves 8 to 10 as a side dish
Ingredients: 3/4 cup, pine nuts; 2 medium cloves, garlic, unpeeled; , 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 (about 4 ounces); 1 cup, baby spinach (packed), about 1 ounce; 1/2 teaspoon, ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons, fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon; 1 1/2 ounces, finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3/4 cup), plus extra for serving; 6 tablespoons, mayonnaise; 1 pint, cherry tomatoes, quartered, or grape tomatoes, halved (optional)

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated July/August 2006, America's Test Kitchen TV

Side Dishes

Pasta

Salads

At its best, pesto is fresh, green, and full of herbal flavor. Could it stay that way even when added to an American pasta salad?

SERVES8 to 10 as a side dish

TIME55 minutes

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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

When we developed our pesto pasta salad recipe, we discovered a trick to prevent the pesto’s bright green color from dulling. Adding another green element to the pesto—fresh baby spinach—provided long-lasting color without interfering with ...

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