Photo by Justin Fox Burks
If you grow basil in your garden, then you are probably like me this time of year: sorting through the back of your freezer for any leftover basil from last summer’s pesto-making frenzy.
Thrilled to find pesto I’d forgotten about, I remembered a recipe for pesto pasta salad in Jennifer Chandler’s latest book called “The Southern Pantry Cookbook.” So I flipped to page 32, scanned the recipe, and realized that I had all the ingredients in my kitchen — just like the book promises.
Since then, I’ve made the salad for family dinners and several potluck occasions, and it is always a grand slam: handy ingredients, easy to make, delicious, and popular. I follow the recipe except for the addition of chopped parsley. I toss in a handful or two because I like the color and texture.
Chandler, who also makes big batches of pesto in the summer to freeze, said she started making more traditional pesto pasta salad at her former restaurant in East Memphis, Cheffie’s Market and More. But when visiting a restaurant in Colorado, she tried and loved a pesto pasta salad that was creamy.
“I asked the server how they made it, and she told me mayo was the secret ingredient,” Chandler said. “I have been combining the pesto and the mayo together as the dressing for this salad ever since.”
I suspect you will be a convert to a new approach, too, once you try Chandler’s recipes for the salad and summer pesto. Her recipes are detailed below, along with her recipe’s introduction from the book.
Pesto Pasta Salad
(Serves 6.)
Pesto is probably my favorite condiment. It gives anything it touches a taste of summer … and since it freezes well, it can be used year round. In this non-traditional pasta salad, I add frozen green peas to give extra flavor and a pop of color to the dish. Feel free to toss in any vegetables you have on hand.
1/2 cup basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 pound cavatappi pasta, cooked per package directions and chilled
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a large bowl, whisk together the pesto and mayonnaise. Add the cooked pasta, cheese, and peas and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve chilled.
Cooking Tip: I like to use corkscrew shaped pasta for this salad because it holds the sauce and peas, but feel free to use whatever short pasta that you have on hand.
Side Bar: Homemade Basil Pesto
(Makes 1 cup.)
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the basil and the pine nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the garlic and pulse a few times more.
Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
