Farmers’ Market Pasta with Basil Pesto and Pine Nuts
Our April Pasta Spotlight, Annie Sageer of Ciao Chow Bambina, shares her favorite simple and quick pasta dish. It’s filled with lots of farm fresh and seasonal veggies!
Farmers’ Market Pasta with Basil Pesto and Pine Nuts
Total Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 16 oz. of your favorite curly pasta I used riccioli
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts optional
- Parmesan for serving
- 2 large yellow squash sliced lengthwise into ½-inch thick
- 2 large zucchini sliced lengthwise into ½-inch thick
- 2 red onions large chop
- 4 red bell peppers quartered lengthwise
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Salt & cracked black pepper to taste
Pesto
- 4 cups firmly packed fresh basil
- 2 – 3 garlic cloves chopped
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- Salt to taste
Instructions
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Preheat broiler.
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For the pesto, combine basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor with ¼ cup olive oil.
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Pulse until you have a slightly chunky sauce, but not smooth.
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Add the remaining oil while processing.
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Stop once or twice to scrape down the sides.
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Stir in the cheese and season with salt. Set aside.
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Toss squash, zucchini, onion and red pepper with oil, salt and pepper.
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Broil half the prepared vegetables for 8 – 10 minutes, turning once until tender and golden.
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Repeat with remaining vegetables.
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Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
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In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta to al dente.
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When finished, drain pasta, reserving a cup of pasta liquid.
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In a large bowl, combine the pasta with pesto and a splash or two of the pasta liquid (should the sauce need to be thinned a little).
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Add the vegetables and gently combine.
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Finish with ½ cup toasted pine nuts and a hefty sprinkle of grated Parmesan.
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Serve.
Recipe Notes
This recipe is an original from Annie Sageer of Ciao Chow Bambina in collaboration with our Pasta Spotlight program.