Looking for a nontraditional side for your Easter menu?
As I mentioned yesterday, I love changing things up when it comes to traditional menus and this springy pesto pasta salad is just the thing to brighten up any table spread full of good food.
Sent to me by a friend, Liz K., this recipe is apparently an Ina Garten classic and it is far and away one of the best pasta salads I've had.
The pesto is lightened up to a delicious creamy consistency and blended with hearty spinach.
Brightened with the zing of fresh lemon juice, the entire mixture is tossed with the toothsome pasta and topped with tender peas, crunchy pine nuts and salty Parmesan.
Simple to put together, this pasta salad should go on your to-make list immediately.
Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is cooked to your liking. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature, tossing every once in a while to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other as they cool.
In a food processor or blender, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pine nuts, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.
Click the above image to see all the Easter/Spring recipes!
I made this as directed! How come mine was all sludge green! Didn't look like yours at all!
Has anyone frozen the leftovers?
Mel! I love all your recipes and your blog. I always ask silly questions. But my question is I'm making this salad right now thinking it was meant to serve cold. I need to learn to read the whole recipe before starting. Do you think I am fine chilling it tonight and serving it tomorrow on our camping trip?
Your questions aren't silly, Dani! This salad is great chilled but you might want to reserve a bit of pesto to stir in right before serving as it tends to dry out slightly when refrigerated overnight.
What a great recipie. To speed things up i used Kraft olive oil pesto Parmesan salad dressing and added roasted almond slices as I did not have any pine nuts. A very tasty pasta salad.
Can I make the pesto mix the day before?
Kim – I've never done it that way, but I think it should work fine as long as it is well covered and refrigerated.
This was a huge hit at our Memorial Day BBQ last night. Thanks for sharing!
Much thanks for this recipe. As your recipes always are, this was a huge crowd pleaser. I cooked it for a huge family dinner and have since received multiple requests for the recipe.
I love me some pesto – and I loved the addition of spinach. Yum.
Thanks, Shauntel! I'm glad this worked out for your big family dinner!
I made this tonight! I am usually not too fond of pasta salad, but this was a hit with my husband & I. I had a little bit of pesto sauce left over, do you think it would last if I freezed it?
Natalie – hmmm, I don't know if the pesto sauce would freeze very well because of the creaminess. It wouldn't hurt to try but it may defrost with a bit of a grainy-texture.
Stacie – your comment made me chuckle! I'm so glad your husband raved about this (I'd be making it every night if I were you)…and also, thanks for adding your changes!
Just wanted to let you know I made this the other night and my husband was nearly kissing my feet. Seriously, I don't know even know how many times he complimented me. This is definitely one of our new favorites!
I also wanted to add that I had frozen spinach on hand, but opted to use up some fresh spinach. I only used what I had (maybe 6-8 ounces, I made the salad slightly smaller than yours) and I simply threw it in the food processor with everything else. Turned out just great!
You should invest in an aerogarden. We got one last July and have had fresh basil, cilantro, sage, oregano, and parsley inside the house since. And they are sooo easy to take care of!
Jeanna – to be honest, I have no idea, but my guess would be to use two 9-ounce bags of fresh spinach and cook it down (or steam it) until it is wilted. Drain off the liquid and use in the recipe. Let me know if you try it!
A comment above refers to seeing Ina make this on her show using fresh spinach, yet the recipe lists frozen. I would prefer using fresh but how much, and how would you prep it? thanks!
Becky – I'm sure you could sub another kind of creamy ingredient for mayo. The taste and texture might change a bit but I think it is worth trying if you don't have may on hand. I think plain yogurt might work as well. I'm glad this salad was a hit!
I made this for Easter yesterday and it was a HUGE hit! I wanted to see if you thought low fat/fat-free sour cream could be subbed for the mayo? I never have mayo on hand, but always have sour cream.
This was a great addition to our Easter table. Thank you so much for sharing. I love your site.
TaLaisa, as always, you are a wealth of information! Thank you so much for chiming in on the pesto discussion, and especially the different nuts you have used. I can't wait to get my hands on your recipes!
Thanks for sharin' the love, glad to see I have a 4th reader out there 🙂 I'm excited to try your lasagna, chantilly potatoes and chicken cordon blue casserole this week. I have yet to be disappointed by any of your recipes!
I love adding peas to pasta. I made something similar today for lunch. This looks delicious.
I adore Pesto with a burning love of a thousand suns. Pesto is my favorite.
I plant 3 or 4 basil plants every summer so that I can make and freeze pesto for later on. Homemade pesto is so much better than store bought it's worth the few minutes it takes to make up a batch. I have used a bit of flat leaf parsley to extend the basil when I've craved it and the frozen stash is out and I can't bring myself to spend $8 for herbs that'll work for 1.5 meals.
I've successfully made and LOVED pesto with the following nuts (not all at once) pistachios, toasted pecans and walnuts. I have a little boy who is allergic to peanuts and most tree nuts. Of the above mentioned nuts He can now only have pistachios and I've found that the Everybody's Nuts Pistachios (they sell the salt and pepper variety at Costco) are not processed with any other nuts. As a mom of a nut allergy boy I can't tell you how rare that is. Pistachios are my very favorite unconventional nut for pesto, even given the option of the other varieties. Pecans are next in line.
Melanie, I'll email you my recipe so you can try it out. You know, when the basil plant is big enough this summer.
It's really a lovely dish and your photo is terrific!
What a perfect dish for Easter… I love all the ingredients used.
For those who asked about pesto – I never make my own pesto in the winter because basil is too darn expensive but hopefully I'll have a prolific basil plant (or three) this summer and if so, I'll test out some pesto recipes and post them (I don't have a great favorite right now, although Ina Garten has a good one, I've heard, if you search the Food Network site).
Lillian – I don't have a pesto recipe without pine nuts but I bet you could google the question and find some good results!
JJ – your comment/question made me laugh – the swimming in the pool part. Anyway, the reason is because if the cooking times are different on the pasta (which they are by a couple of minutes for these two types), then one pasta would be under or overcooked. However, you could figure out the times and add the pasta second that has a lower cooking time. Then you would only need one pot.
This may seem like a dumb question but why the need to cook the pastas separatly? Is there a reason they can't swim in the same pool together?
I love this combo. Great pasta dish!
This looks really really good. Do you make your own pesto? Someday (maybe when you have basil coming out your ears), would you post your recipe of it? Please please please please??
Oh, I am so glad you liked this one. Everytime I make it I am reminded how much I love it.
Do you have a good pesto recipe that doesn't involve pine nuts? I'm deathly allergic!
That looks so delicious!! i love all the fresh flavors.
The Barefoot Contessa is one of my favorite Food Network chefs, and I have never been dissapointed by her recipes (I have all of her cookbooks)!
I have made this pasta, and it is amazing! Beautiful photos, Mel!