No reason to get too heavy this Valentine’s Day! You can keep things as light and breezy as the first heady days of romance with this Light-Hearted Pesto Salad on the table! Dressed in a homemade kale pesto with all the herbaceous flavor you could ever hope for, the tender, cool pasta and vibrant tomatoes are ready to impress your date from the very first bite! Creamy, melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella helps Light-Hearted Pesto Salad stay enchantingly upbeat! Despair shrinks away from this lovely, light dish!
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) box pasta, such as cellentani or elbows
- 2 cups kale, chopped
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more, to taste
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- salt, to taste
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 6 ounces mozzarella, cubed
- 3/4 cup pine nuts
Directions
Step 1 –In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the pasta to al dente, according to the package directions.
Step 2 –Drain the pasta and allow it to cool for 5 minutes.
Step 3 –In a food processor, add the kale, 1 cup of the fresh basil, and the walnuts and pulse until it is all finely chopped.
Step 4 –Scrape down the sides of the food processor.
Step 5 –Add the olive oil, the parmesan, the garlic, the lemon juice, and the salt and run the food processor until everything is blended together.
Step 6 –In a bowl, add the cooled pasta, the extra basil leaves, the tomatoes, the mozzarella, and the pine nuts and stir to combine.
Step 7 –Add the pesto to the pasta mixture and toss to combine.
Step 8 –Serve garnished with more of the extra basil.
