- Bring a pot of heavily salted water ๐ง to a rolling boil. Add pasta (penne, orzmmmmmmฤบo, rotini or bowties are good choices). Stir then let boil for 7 minutes or until tender and slightly al dente.( 1 lb. of pasta) Drain and cool. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
- Chop 2 medium red onions, 2 green bell peppers, and 1 red bell pepper.
- Partially peel 2 cucumbers and chop them into cubes or wedges.
- Chop 3 yellow squash into cubes and saute in lemon ๐ infused olive oil with 1 cup of fresh asparagus tips just until tender. Add 5 cups of spinach and saute until just wilted.
- Slice 2-3 cups of cherry tomatoes in half.
- Slice 1 cup of pitted black olives in half.
- Add all of the veggies to the cooled pasta.
- Make pesto: put 3 cups of fresh basil leaves, ยฝ cup of pistachios, ยฝ cup of finely grared parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic in food processor and process until it’s a paste. With processor running, pour in lemon ๐ infused olive oil through the top until pesto reaches desired consistency (about 1-1 ยฝ cups of oil). Squeeze ยฝ lemon and mix.
- Pour pesto onto pasta and vegetable mixture and combine.
- Add 1/2cup chopped parsley and juice of 1 lemon.
- Crumble 3 ounces of goat ๐ cheese ๐ง on salad and gently mix in.
- Serve.
Beautiful Rainbow ๐ Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad with Pesto
