Barefoot Bloggin!

This weeks BB recipe turned out great! Its pretty versatile and tasted really good. Hubs and I had some grilled italian sausage with it. I did leave a few things out and I took a shortcut on the pesto. I was a little concerned I wouldnt like it and I didnt want to spend a bunch of jack to make the pesto only to toss it later. I just used rotini pasta and let all that yummay sauce get down into the grooves of the pasta. I took the advice of many of the reviewers and cut the mayo to more than half of what she called for. It was still great. The lemon gives the salad a great little zip and goes great with the parm . I think if I made it again I might add some red onion and some chix and make a meal out of it! Thanks to Elizabeth at Ugg Smells Food for this great recipe! Stay tuned in two weeks for Parmesean Chicken....

Pasta Pesto and Peas
Ina Garten
3/4 pound fusilli pasta
3/4 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups pesto, packaged or see recipe below
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry (left this out)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise (I used a 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pignolis (pine nuts) (I left these out)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignolis, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.


Pesto:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.
Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

To clean basil, remove the leaves, swirl them in a bowl of water, and then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. Store them in a closed plastic bag with a slightly damp paper towel. As long as the leaves are dry they will stay green for several days.

Yield: 4 cups