Pasta Salad With Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 5
• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaf
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (curly or flat leaf)
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated (don't use pre-grated cheese!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 8 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
• 2 -3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (i used balsamic) or 2 -3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (i used balsamic)
• 4 cups cooked pasta, drained chilled (of your choice)

Recipe

• 1 pesto: lightly toast the pine nuts and set aside.
• 2 in a food processor or blender add the basil, garlic, and parsley. process until finely chopped.
• 3 add the pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and salt; process using the pulse setting until just blended.
• 4 with the appliance running, gradually add the olive oil through the feed tube, processing until a smooth paste is formed.
• 5 add the sun-dried tomatoes and vinegar of choice, processing until the tomatoes are finely chopped but flecks are still visible.
• 6 yield: 1 1/2 cups pesto.
• 7 pasta salad: transfer the cooked, chilled pasta to a pretty salad bowl and stir in the pesto sauce, making sure the pasta is generously coated. (you may or may not use up all the pesto sauce.).
• 8 cover salad bowl and chill the salad up to 6 hours.
• 9 yield is estimated.