Pestolicious…
Well, I am one tired lady! I had an early birthday party for my daughter today and well… wild kiddos tire me out. Anyway, for the birthday party we grilled burgers (Yes, the weather was very nice here in North Carolina!) and we also had the yummy Pesto dish I mentioned yesterday evening… So as Promised here is the recipe. My family and Friends can’t get enough of this dish, so If you try it, make sure to come back and let me know what you think! 🙂
Bow Ties with Pesto, Feta and Cherry Tomatoes
Pesto:
5 big handfuls basil leaves (about 2 hefty bunches)
1/2 cup pine nuts or 3/4 cup walnuts (I like using walnuts better)
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (I use Pecorino – LOVE that cheese!)
Juice of 1 small lemon
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Kosher salt
About 20 grinds freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients with 1/2 cup of the oil in a blender and blend. Gradually drizzle in the remaining 1/4 cup of oil until pesto is thick and smooth.
Ingredients for the rest of the dish:
* 1 pound bow tie pasta (farfalle)
* 3/4 cup Pesto, recipe follows
* 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Olive oil, as needed
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Stir in the bow ties and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and run it under cold water just until it stops steaming. Bounce the pasta around to get rid of as much water as you can.
Dump the pasta into a large serving bowl. Stir in the pesto until the pasta is coated. Toss in the cherry tomatoes and the crumbled feta. Taste the salad and season it as you like with salt and pepper. You can make the salad up to about 1 hour before you serve it. Enjoy!!
This recipe is very easy to make and so delicious!
(Recipe credit: Dave Lieberman of Food Network!)
Also, for all of you that were curious, the tomato basil soup I made last night was created using this awesome recipe from All Recipes! If you’re looking for some comfort food, this is definitely it!
Now, don’t you worry, we will get back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly… 😉
Sounds yummy!! Can’t wait to make it:)
My In-Laws are here so this will be a great new recipe to try….Thanks 🙂
LOOKS AMAZING!!!! Can’t wait to try this!
What part of NC? It was a bit chilly here around Bragg.
Jacksonville, I live 30 mins from Bragg and it was nice here too.
Cary here and it was pure heaven outside today 🙂
this looks amazing…yum i love basil also and when I was pregnant with my little girl I craved it so much I had a few leaves of basil on everything from sandwiches to my eggs, I used fresh basil on EVERYTHING! hahaha thx for the wonderful dinner idea
Oh and you know if you have a bunch of basil and want to make a bunch of pesto, you can freeze it in ice cube trays. this way when you want to make a quick pesto chicken dish or anything you just pop out the frozen pesto ice cube!!! I usually freeze a bunch of it the end of season when my basil bush is huge and I have to use it before frost.
What a great idea about freezing the pesto Kristen! Thanks!
Colin, you are Wonder Woman! How do you do it all? Bday party, keep up on deals, find time to post deals, kids, hubby, everything else??!!! You are amazing! Thanks for all of your hard work!
This looks SO GOOD! You are awesome for posting this, I am going to make it tonight! Thank you. 🙂
Yesterday you inspired me to make tomato basil soup and open faced cheese sandwiches. They were so yummy. Thanks so much! I love that you are showing what you eat for dinner and the receipes. It gets me inspired to make something different for dinner.
Colin, thank you for this recipe – can’t wait to try it! And, thank you for everything you for for all of us!
Hey Collin…Do you by chance have any leftovers(lol)???Looks super tasty!!
Why of course not! 🙂
Hi Colin,
This recipe looks delicious. How about posting the recipe for the tomato basil soup. That one sounds great too!
Thanks so much for all that you do!
Hi Brenda-The recipe link IS above in her post:-)
Here ya go:
https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rich-and-Creamy-Tomato-Basil-Soup/Detail.aspx
I love this recipe and I love basil, but I ABSOLUTELY love Dill in this soup!! You’ll have to try that too!!
Sounds great!! I made a quick new dinner tonight. I used broccoli instead and it was, good next time may add some garlic to it!
Chicken and Penne Parmesan
Ingredients:
Servings:8-10
• 1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
• 3 -4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2 2/3 cups penne rigate, uncooked
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
Change Measurements: US | Metric
Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
1. 1 In 5 quart saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; add chicken.
2. 2 Cook until no longer pink.
3. 3 Add broth; heat to boiling.
4. 4 Add uncooked pasta and pepper, stirring to coat pasta with liquid.
5. 5 Heat to boiling; reduce heat.
6. 6 Cover; simmer 7 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.
7. 7 Add asparagus, continue to cook another 7 minutes or until pasta is tender and most liquid is absorbed.
8. 8 Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together soup, milk and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese until smooth; stir into chicken mixture.
9. 9 Heat until mixture just comes to a boil; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Sounds yummy! 🙂
This looks yummy too…I love asparagus..! Do you think that I could substitute campells cheese soup for the cr of chix? Or would it make it too Cheesey?
Looks amazing think I will make this sunday night i think my friends will love this while we are studying for our big test monday
I like the recipe posts!!!
And to top it off, it’s vegetarian friendly! Woohoo! Thanks! Can’t wait to try it.
Walnuts work well as a substitute for pine nuts in pesto. The purists may scoff, but I actually prefer them as well! ( and they are much cheaper.) I like to toast them a bit in a skillet on the stovetop before adding them to the blender.
Pesto also makes a great pizza sauce. If you have a pizza oven, spread some on a flour tortilla and dot with fresh mozzarella and halved cherry tomatoes. Stick it into the pizza oven for about 6-7 minutes and you have a great lunch or appetizer.
Sounds delicious, Collin! Can’t wait to try it!!!! Thanks!
Gotta love that NC weather!
Ever since you posted that today every time I get on here to see what’s going on I have to skip over it real quick because it makes me hungry lol, looks yummy!!!!! My husband loves pecorino romano, and we all love pesto, I want to try this (now! lol).
Bounce the pasta around to get rid of as much water as you can.
Love these directions!
That looks so yummy I want to eat my screen!
mouth is watering!!
That looks sooo delicious.- I’m gonna make it tomorrow.
This looks fabulous! Just figured out how to make use of all my free pasta!! Any ideas though on a substitute for Tomatoes?? Have a very picky husband and 3 year old to accomodate..
Good question!
I was going to just try leaving the tomatoes out out but I wonder how it would taste with some kind of olives… I’m sooo uncreative in the kitchen and my husband and I are both picky (especially about vegetables) so I’d love to hear some suggestions.
This looks so good! We love pesto here! We have it with just hot spaghetti noodles. It’s also great on corn on the cob….sounds weird, but it’s oh so good! We also put it on sub buns, top with shredded chicken, mozz. cheese, and bake for a few minutes. And for pizza, we spread it on the pizza crust, top with diced tomatoes, mozz. cheese, and shredded chicken & bake. Yum! 🙂 Thanks for posting this!
…but where is the recipe for the pesto??
Sounds delicious! If you’re short on time, Sam’s Club sells a big ol thing of Pesto near their salsas and pasta in the refrigerated area that is very good!
Thank you so much for this, Collin!