Pesto Pasta Salad

Pesto Pasta Salad. Who does not love pesto?

The great thing about making pesto is that you can use different herbs, cheese and nuts to achieve a totally different taste. This recipe is different because it uses mayonnaise which adds a creaminess to the pesto you will never get otherwise. It may sound strange but every person who has ever tasted this salad thinks it is better than other pesto's they have had. Honest.

This recipe is for my sister Terri. I won't go into the details but suffice it to say that I fell short when asked for a pasta salad recipe.

This recipe is made with spinach and basil both of which I love. The spinach helps give it that bright green color and makes it healthy and the basil is traditional in pesto and gives it that familiar flavor. Be sure to always toast your nuts, it brings out the flavor and adds to the finished dish.

The recipe:

• 3/4 pine nuts, toasted
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• 3 cups baby spinach leaves, about 4 ounces
• 1 cup basil, about 1 ounce
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 pound Farfalle (bow tie pasta)

Toast the pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat tossing every few seconds to prevent burning. This only takes a couple of minutes. Pine nuts burn easily so as soon as they get some brown on them turn the heat off. Set aside to cool.

To make the pesto put everything in the food processor: the garlic, spinach, basil, pepper, lemon, olive oil and 1/2 cup of the pine nuts and process just until smooth. Add the cheese and mayonnaise and pulse until just blended.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling well salted water according to package directions. Allow to cool slightly.

To make the salad put the remainder of the pine nuts into a large bowl, add the pesto, the pasta, the tomatoes and toss well. Chill.

Warning. This recipe makes more pesto than you will probably need. I recommend you start off using about 2/3 of the pesto in your salad. I find that is enough. I take the remaining and keep it for another use.

I made this last weekend for a family reunion. The funny thing is that we had tables and tables full of food and three of my sister-in-laws knew immediately that I had made this salad.

Want to know a secret? If you really want to keep the green color fresh add a pinch of citric acid. It works beautifully. It will keep the leftover pesto bright green for days in your refrigerator. I know most people don't have citric acid but I now have it in my house because it is used for making cheese, and you all know about my obsession with cheese making right?

So Terri I hope you make this and everyone loves it!