This pasta salad with mozzarella and red pesto is an absolute hit that shouldn’t be missed at any barbecue. It’s easy to prepare and tastes absolutely amazing. With just a few steps, you can prepare a side dish that could easily pass as a main course, and it certainly will.
Pasta Salad with Mozzarella and Red Pesto
It’s almost a running joke: Every person who brings a pasta salad to a barbecue claims that theirs is the best in the world. Most of these salads are really good, but sometimes people wonder if flattery might have triumphed over honesty. However, such situations will certainly not happen to you with this pasta salad with mozzarella and red pesto in tow. This simple pasta salad is so delicious, trust that everyone will make sure to ask you for the recipe before you leave the function.
The secret: red pesto. This is often overlooked, but it’s in no way inferior to its big green counterpart. And it’s also very easy to prepare. You need sun-dried tomatoes in oil, sunflower and pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, and salt and pepper. Purée everything finely and season well.
In addition, a good pasta salad with mozzarella and red pesto naturally includes mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes, and some arugula; After all, it can be a little spicier. The mustardy-tasting salad offers a refreshing counterpoint to the oily pesto and is an absolute must.
Once you have the ingredients, the next trick for a good pasta salad with mozzarella and red pesto lies in the preparation. Start by cooking the pasta, we personally like farfalle, but you can choose whatever calls to your stomach. Just make sure to cook your pasta of choice in sufficiently salted water until al dente. Make sure not to overcook it, otherwise it will become too mushy.
Afterwards, let the pasta cool cool and then mix it with the pesto. Adding a splash and a dash of pasta water will make sure that the sauce sticks well to the pasta. Only mix in the mozzarella, tomatoes, and arugula when everything has cooled down. This way, the salad and tomatoes retain their bite and the mozzarella doesn’t melt. Season the salad with oil, salt, and pepper and serve it at room temperature. We promise you and yours will enjoy!
Hungry for more delicious pasta salads? Then make such beauties as our parsley salad, cucumber salad with peanut dressing, and raw zucchini salad.
Pasta Salad with Mozzarella and Red Pesto
Ingredients
For the pesto:
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 3 tbsp Parmesan grated
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
For the salad:
- ⅔ 1-lb. box farfalle pasta (a10.5 oz.) or other pasta
- salt
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 handfuls arugula
- 7 oz mozzarella balls
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil to taste
Instructions
- First, prepare the pesto. Using a blender or food processor, purée the sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Let the pesto sit for a bit.
- Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente, drain, and reserve some of the pasta water. Let the pasta cool.
- Halve the cherry tomatoes, roughly chop the arugula, and drain the mozzarella balls well.
- Mix the cooled pasta with the pesto and possibly a little pasta water so that the pesto sticks well.
- Add the mozzarella, tomatoes, and arugula just before serving so that they stay fresh and the mozzarella doesn’t melt.
- Season the salad with salt, pepper, and a little oil.