Pasta Salad with Walnut-Sage Pesto

 

Pasta Salad with Walnut-Sage PestoIngredients

  • 2 ½ cups. Butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
  • Cooking spray
  • ½ tsp. salt, divided
  • ½ cup parsley leaves
  • 2 ½ tbs. walnuts, chopped
  • 2 tbs. sage leaves
  • 2 tbs. lemon juice
  • 2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/3 cup fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 3 cups cooked pasta (about 6 ounces uncooked)
  • 4 cups arugula
  • ¼ cup shallots, thinly slice
  • ½ tsp. black pepper

Instructions

  1. Arrange squash in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray.  Lightly coat squash with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until squash is tender, stirring after 10 minutes.  Cool squash slightly.
  2. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, parsley, walnuts, sage, lemon juice, oil and garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped, scraping sides.  With processor on, slowly pour broth through food chute, processing until well blended.
  3. Combine the squash, pasta and pesto in a large bowl, and toss well to coat. Add arugula, shallots and pepper; toss to combine.  Serve immediately.
  4. The flavorful pesto clings to a corkscrew-shaped pasta.  Any small pasta, such as farfalle, penne, seashell or cavatappi, would work well.  The Pesto sauce darkens upon standing, so try to serve the salad shortly after tossing the ingredients.
Our recipes can be part of a well-balanced food plan. Any alterations made during preparation are at the discretion of the chef and are not included in the nutritional analysis provided.