Zesty pesto, peas, pine nuts, and mozzarella pearls make a flavorful and pretty pasta salad.

Though pasta salad is a staple at every summer cookout, most of them are (forgive me) pretty bad. The usual formula – cold cooked pasta, raw vegetables, and an oil-and-vinegar salad dressing – just doesn’t work well. The key to making a delicious pasta salad is to replace the sharp vinaigrette with a rich and flavorful sauce. In this pesto pasta salad recipe, zesty pesto mellowed and thickened with a little mayonnaise makes a lovely sauce. Peas and pesto go well together, so I add peas to both the sauce and the pasta. Crunchy toasted pine nuts and creamy mozzarella pearls fill the salad out. Go ahead and make all of the components of the salad a day ahead of time; just keep everything separate and toss together right before serving.

What You’ll Need To Make Pesto pasta Salad with Peas, Pine Nuts & Mozzarella Pearls

The best pasta to use for this salad is corkscrew-shaped fusilli, which has plenty of surface area and groves for capturing the pesto sauce. Rotini is another good option.

For the pesto, I use my go-to pesto recipe, which is in my fridge practically all summer long, but store-bought will work, too.

For the cheese, use imported Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy; domestic Parmesan pales in comparison. You can always tell if it’s authentic by looking at the rind, which is embossed with the name over and over. If the cheese is already grated, it should be labeled “Parmigiano-Reggiano,” not “Parmesan.”

Step-by-Step Instructions

Begin by boiling the pasta in salted water. Be sure it is fully cooked, as pasta firms up at room temperature (you don’t want al dente-cooked pasta for pasta salad). Set aside to cool.

Next, toast the pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat until golden. Keep a close eye on them, as they burn quickly, and then transfer them to a plate as soon as they are cooked. If you leave them in the hot pan, they will continue to cook.

Next, make the pesto sauce. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the pesto, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of the peas.

Purée until smooth, then add the mayonnaise.

Process again until the sauce is smooth.

Toss the cooled pasta with the olive oil.

Add the pesto-pea mixture to the pasta, along with the Parmesan, 3/4 cup of the peas, 3 tablespoons of the pine nuts, the mozzarella, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Mix well, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. (I usually add 1/4 teaspoon each more salt and pepper, but it will depend on the saltiness of the pesto you’re using and how heavily the pasta water was salted.) Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the remaining peas, pine nuts, and basil over top. Serve at room temperature.

This dish would pair nicely with my grilled chicken breasts or grilled flank steak with garlic and rosemary.

I am Jenn Segal. Please find the original article here, Pesto Pasta Salad with Peas, Pine Nuts & Mozzarella Pearls.