Pesto Pea Pasta Salad

I love this recipe – it makes enough to feed a small traveling circus.  Plus, it’s totally delicious. Of course, it is based on an Ina Garten recipe.  I love how she stretches the pesto with the addition of spinach.  This recipe calls for pinenuts and it totally needs them.  They are a little pricey though, but the price isn’t bad at Costco.

Pesto Pea Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound fusilli pasta (spirals)
• 3/4 pound bow tie pasta
• olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups pesto (I use cibo from costco)
• 1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and wrung out
• 3 T. lemon juice, fresh squeezed
• 1 1/4 cup best foods or hellmans mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 cups frozed peas, defrosted
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
• kosher salt
• pepper

Cooking Directions:

1. Toast the pine nuts for 3-4 minutes in a dry saute pan until browned. Stir often as they can burn quickly.
2. Cook pasta al dente in salted water per box directions. Drain and toss with olive oil. Cool.
3. In a food processor puree pesto, spinach and lemon juice. Add the mayo & puree until well mixed.
4. Add the pesto mixture to the pasta along with the parmesan, peas and pine nuts. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serves at room temperature. Serves 12.