Homemade pesto makes all the difference in this simple and delicious farmers’ market pasta dish!
When pasta’s on the menu, Hubby’s happy.
When pesto’s on the menu, I’m happy.
When a warm homemade meal is on the table, we’re all happy.
So here’s the deal – we started up with a new CSA…and man are we thrilled!
Are you wondering why I’m just today talking about our CSA, now that summer is almost over? I imagine most everyone is startin’ to dream about punkins (I swear I’ve never called them punkins before), football and warm apple cider… yet I’m just bringing up this quintessential summer experience…veggies picked fresh and shipped straight from the farm to my favorite little grocer for same day pick-up.
What’s the catch? Dom found a new (to us) local farm that starts up deliveries in August and’ll take us straight through to the first frosty days of fall. How cool is that?
Enter Farmers’ Market Pasta with Basil Pesto and Pine Nuts. (Not much of a segue, there. Sorry.)
There’s nothing like curly pasta, aka riccioli, smothered in basil pesto, finished off with fresher than fresh farmers’ market, aka CSA, finds. <—–Now that’s a mouthful! Which is what I’m hoping will happen with this farm-fresh-prettier-than-a-zucchini-blossom pasta dish……you know…….you’ll grab a fork and have a mouthful…
So what’s included in this super fresh, gorgeously seasonal, and abundantly flavorful dish?
- basil pesto
- yellow squash
- zucchini
- red onion
- red bell peppers
- riccioli
- grated Parm
- toasted pine nuts
- sunshine
- happiness
What more does one need?
So, while there’s still time, please please please join me in a heaping plate of yummy summer goodness! {Oh yeah, before I forget, this lovely little number will make for an awesome dish to pass on Labor Day. Prepare ahead and serve cold or at room temp alongside all your other fun fixins!}
Have a great weekend, my friends!
Buon Appetito!
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Farmers’ Market Pasta with Basil Pesto and Pine Nuts
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- Pesto
- 4 cups firmly packed fresh basil
- 2 – 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- Salt, to taste
- Veggies
- 2 large yellow squash, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick
- 2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick
- 2 red onions, large chop
- 4 red bell peppers, quartered lengthwise
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt & cracked black pepper, to taste
- Pasta
- 16 oz. of your favorite curly pasta, I used riccioli
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
- Parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat broiler.
- For the pesto, combine basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor with ¼ cup olive oil.
- Pulse until you have a slightly chunky sauce, but not smooth.
- Add the remaining oil while processing.
- Stop once or twice to scrape down the sides.
- Stir in the cheese and season with salt. Set aside.
- Toss squash, zucchini, onion and red pepper with oil, salt and pepper.
- Broil half the prepared vegetables for 8 – 10 minutes, turning once until tender and golden.
- Repeat with remaining vegetables.
- Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta to al dente.
- When finished, drain pasta, reserving a cup of pasta liquid.
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta with pesto and a splash or two of the pasta liquid (should the sauce need to be thinned a little).
- Add the vegetables and gently combine.
- Finish with 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts and a hefty sprinkle of grated Parmesan.
- Serve.
Would like to pin? Here you go!
This recipe screams “classic”, yet you still find a way to make it ingenious and bright. Most importantly, I think, it’s versatile as heck.
Thinking of using this pesto today with a tomato salad and some incredible burratta I’ve just acquired….happy Labor Day!
burrata*, whoops!
Hehehe…burratta – burrata – it’s all the same deliciousness! 😉
Oh my..this dish with added burrata?! Amazing!! Thank you, my friend! Hope your weekend was wonderful!! 🙂
This looks gorgeous! I have been making and freezing pesto all weekend! I’ve waited all summer for my basil to be ready and now it’s going crazy! I love how you’ve paired this with pasta and veggies!
Thank you, Kathy! I really need to plant basil next year!! 🙂
That pesto pasta looks mouthwatering, but I really love your white pasta pot with those red handles! It looks like a well loved pot.
Be still my heart.
I am new to your blog, I stopped by the other day and bam, was I hooked. I have since spent many hours reading and bookmarking so many recipes.
Isn’t that pot a beauty?! … One of my favorites, too! You are so sweet! Thank you so much for your kind words!! 🙂
I think I’m addicted to pesto. And roasted veggies are looking pretty good to me now with the weather turning colder. Cheers!
You and me both! I could eat it everyday! Cheers, my friend!
This is such a gorgeous dish…the colours are so beautiful.
I love basil and have tons of it growing in my garden…this pesto is a great recipe to use it in.. Absolutely love it!!!
I really need to grow a garden…even if it’s only filled with basil! Thank you, Ashika!
So many beautiful colors and vegetables in this pasta!! Love the addition of homemade pesto!! So much more flavor!
The homemade pesto takes it over the top! Thank you, Deepika!
This is so very Fall!! Pesto and pasta both make me happy 🙂 This looks amazing – I love all of the colourful seasonal vegetables in here!
I could put pesto on everything! Thanks, Katherine!
With the last holiday of the summer upon us I’m sure this dish will be enjoyed coast to coast! GREG
Thank you, Greg! Have a wonderful holiday!
Gorgeous! We just got back from Italy and I have pasta on the brain all the time. The food was totally amazing and I miss it everyday!
You just got back from Italy?! Oh mannn! Yep – it’s been a few years since we’ve been, and I still miss the food everyday! Thanks, my friend!
I’d eat this whole thing, Annie! Just love pasta with pesto and veggies! So bright and delicious. I haven’t tried a CSA yet but I grow a lot in my backyard and we have a really big farmers market in town each week. Pining this! Have a great holiday weekend!
I would LOVE to have a big garden in my backyard! Maybe someday… So happy you like the dish! Thank you, my friend! Have a great weekend! 🙂
I’m going to LOVE this recipe Annie! So fresh and colorful. Your CSA sounds great. Love how it goes through fall! Happy holiday weekend!
This is a tasty one!! Thanks, Mary Ann! Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Just an FYI–I’m on my way to your house for dinner :). This dish is what heaven looks like, I’m sure of it. All those veggies and pasta and pesto! I swoon!
Woohooo! We’ll be ready! Then you can stay and go to tomorrow’s SU game with us! GO ORANGE!! Thank you, my friend!
This is the dish that dreams are made of! I’m with you on pesto and with your hubby on pasta, so, win, win! And all of those colorful, delicious veggies! I’ll be making this toot sweet. 🙂
You just can’t deny all the flavor going on here! Love it! Thank you, my friend! 🙂
Oh my goodness Annie! Aren’t CSAs the BEST!? So happy you found one that takes you through fall – FTW! Now about this pasta… I find pesto is like a magic ingredient with pasta… you can toss just about any veggie in with it and it’s SO fabulous. I love how you’ve included late summer veggies and those pine nuts … ummmmm!! Delicious work my dear!
CSA’s are the best! My daughter wants to experiment with some of the items we don’t normally eat! I love that! Thank you, my dear! Have a great weekend! xo
I always love a great pesto pasta and yours is perfect with the Summer vegetables! Love the idea of a late summer CSA. There is still so much fresh goodness to come yet 🙂 Have a great long weekend!
I can’t resist all that color! Thanks so much, Jennifer! Have a great weekend, my friend!
That is my kind of meal!! Yesss! Love everything about it. It looks beautiful and tastes like heaven. I agree on serving it also cold or room temp. Still delicious!
Delicious no matter how we serve it up! Everything’s better with pesto! Thanks, dear!
What a gorgeous dish! We “eat” with our eyes first, and your pictures make me drool!! I think I am going to have to make this for my lunch today! I have everything you used on hand………..Thanks for the post.
Thank you so much, Diane, Enjoy your lunch!! Savor every bite! 🙂
Annie….I made this for lunch. Had everything I needed and a new jar of pine nuts in the pantry. This was OUTSTANDING!! A real comfort food. I loved it so much, that I made it again for dinner! Delicious AND healthy, too. What could better??
So wonderful! I’m thrilled that you made it and loved it! Thank you for sharing your sweet feedback, my friend!
Yay for everyone being happy (especially their bellies). And how cool is it that Dom found a new farm – woot woot! Pat on the back for that one! While I do enjoy the produce of summer, I loves me some fall – the crispness in the air, pumpkin everything and, of course, the clothes 🙂 I could eat a big ol’ bowl of this goodness. Like you, love pesto! Pinning this one. Cheers to a wonderful long weekend, sweets! XO
It truly is exciting to think that fall is just around the corner! Bring on the sweaters and boots! Love it! Thanks for your kind words, my friend! Have a great weekend! XO
Basil pesto is the best! I love easy dishes like this…my version of pure comfort food!
Pure comfort all the way!! Thanks, Gayle! Happy Birthday! 🙂
Oh, my!! The colors are gorgeous and I can see why the both of you are happy with the meal. Now, I’d love to add pine nuts to more of my dishes but Hubby put his foot down at buying pine nuts at $28.00 a pound. *sigh* So if I want a crunch I sometimes add sunflower seeds. They kinda look like pine nuts and I can pretend. Great recipe.
Mmmmm – sunflower seeds sound lovely!! You know what, though? It’s good even without the crunch! Either way – you can’t miss! Thank you, my friend!