Simple Orzo Salad With Pesto

1¼ cups orzo pasta (Sometimes called risoni.)

1 cup fresh basil (About 2 big handfuls or a small to medium sized bunch.)

¼ cup pine nuts (Buy ready toasted or follow instructions in recipe to toast yourself.)

1 small clove garlic

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus a little extra for drizzling (good quality if possible))

2 cups baby spinach leaves (fresh, washed and finely chopped)

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (grated (quite thickly))

2 tablespoons vinegar (White wine vinegar or cider vinegar are good choices. Or use lemon juice.)

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions for 'al dente' or 'just cooked' (if no instructions for al dente then cook for a little less time than suggested). Drain and rinse in cold water and put into a large bowl. Unless serving hot in which case don't rinse in cold water.
Meanwhile, if not using ready-toasted pine nuts, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan on a medium heat. Keep an eye on them, tossing them around until they are lightly brown. Then set aside to cool.
Then make the homemade pesto. Put most of the basil, about half of the toasted pine nuts, the garlic and the olive oil into the bowl of a food processor (a small food processor is perfect). Pulse for a few seconds until well combined.
Pour the pesto over the orzo and mix well. Then add the chopped spinach, the rest of the basil (chopped a little), the rest of the pine nuts, the parmesan and vinegar and combine again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon the pasta salad into a serving bowl, then drizzle over a little extra olive oil to serve.

Course🍚Side Dish

Diets🥕Vegetarian...

Category🥗Salad

Cuisine🇮🇹Italian

Occasions📆Everyday🏞️Picnic🍲Potluck

Season🔁Year-round

DifficultyEasy ⏰ 20m