How To Make Summertime Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Corn and Jalapeño Pesto
This 30-minute pasta salad is packed with refreshing summer flavors. It’s tossed with tomatoes, corn, and a fresh herb pesto with jalapeno and cilantro.
Serves:
Ingredients
For Pasta Salad:
- ½lbwhole grain bow-tie pasta,or rotini or penne
- 15ozblack beans,(1 can) or 1½ cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
- 10ozcherry tomatoes,(1 pint), sliced into thin rounds
- ½cupfresh corn kernels,(1 ear fresh corn), shucked
- ¾cupcrumbled feta,or diced avocado
For Jalapeño Herb Pesto:
- 1cuplightly packed fresh parsley
- 1cuplightly packed fresh cilantro,or basil
- 2medium jalapeños,roughly chopped, remove seeds and membranes for less heat, optional
- 1medium lemon,juiced
- 1clovegarlic,medium, roughly chopped
- ½tspsalt
- ½cuppepitas (green pumpkin seeds),or slivered almonds
- ½cupolive oil
- freshly ground black pepper,to taste
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, according to package directions.
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Before draining, reserve about a cup of the cooking water. Drain and return to pot. Set aside.
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Toast the pepitas in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are making little popping noises and turning lightly golden on the edges. Set aside to cool a bit.
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To make the pesto, combine the herbs, jalapeño, lemon, garlic, and salt in a food processor. Pour in the pepitas.
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Pulse a few times and then run the machine while drizzling in the olive oil until the mixture is well blended, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
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Pour enough pesto into the pasta to lightly coat it once tossed. Add a small splash of pasta cooking water and toss well.
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Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and add the drained black beans, sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh corn, and feta or avocado. Stir until combined.
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This salad tastes best after it’s had a chance to marinate for about 30 minutes or serve it right away if need be.
Nutrition
- Calories: 511.36kcal
- Fat: 21.61g
- Saturated Fat: 4.92g
- Trans Fat: 0.00g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 11.84g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.55g
- Carbohydrates: 61.56g
- Fiber: 11.03g
- Sugar: 4.20g
- Protein: 20.47g
- Cholesterol: 12.52mg
- Sodium: 287.92mg
- Calcium: 165.80mg
- Potassium: 1106.22mg
- Iron: 4.54mg
- Vitamin A: 73.94µg
- Vitamin C: 23.61mg
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