Description
This is a recipe you can serve hot or cold. A great side-dish or can be a full meal. My kids love this and it’s always a hit. You could also add poached or grilled chicken. You can also freeze any leftover pesto for later use.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 cups mini penne pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 cup chopped asparagus
- ½ cup sliced zucchini
- ½ cup sliced Kalamata olives
- ½ cup diced roasted red pepper
- ½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Make pesto: Combine basil
- Parmesan cheese
- pine nuts
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- and garlic in a food processor; blend until well combined and consistency is that of fresh pesto.
- Start pasta: Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook penne in boiling water until tender yet firm to the bite
- about 11 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil over the pasta and toss to coat.
- While the pasta is cooking
- heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts and toss in hot oil until lightly browned
- 1 to 2 minutes; remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add asparagus
- zucchini
- olives
- red pepper
- and sun-dried tomatoes to the skillet; cook and stir until hot
- 5 to 7 minutes. Stir pine nuts into the vegetable mixture.
- Add cooked pasta and about 1/4 cup of the pesto
- or more to your liking
- to the skillet and toss to combine.
- Serve in bowls topped with grated Parmesan cheese.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings: 8