As much as I love vacation, (especially when I get to sneak away alone with my husband!) it is always so good to get home. And the best part of all, being wrapping my arms around the girls. As a parent I am always grateful for the breaks, because they make me grateful to come home. I find that I am more cheerful, more patient, more engaged- a better parent. So coming home to chaos this week was ok by me. Plus I am so jetlagged that I think a lot of the trivial stuff is just whizzing past me without actually processing!

France was incredible. I swear I spent an entire week just eating and drinking. Oink oink. So why not just roll it into this Holiday week of course….

Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad with Shrimp

We are getting ready for a bunch of fun gatherings with friends over the long weekend, and I am planning to make this pasta salad for one of them. I actually brought it to a dinner at friends houses a few weeks ago, and it was a total hit. The pesto is mild in flavor so the kids loved it as much as the adults, and the cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives lended great pops of color and flavor.

Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad with Shrimp

Now you could certainly leave the pasta there and have a great vegetarian/vegan option, or you could add these delectable sautted shrimp! I just cooked them in a little of the pesto to add extra flavor and fried them up in olive oil. They stayed moist and juicy and were a wonderful compliment to all of the other flavors. This is perfect for potlucks and parties this weekend, it’s even better the second day!

Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad with Shrimp

 

Recipe: Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad with Shrimp (gluten free)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound short cut pasta (gluten free)
  • Spinach Pesto
  • 1/3 cup yellow onion, minced
  • 1 cup packed basil leaves
  • 2 cups spinach leaves
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ¼-1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • kosher salt
  • ½ pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Instructions

  1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, add the pasta. Cook until al dente and then drain, thoroughly rinsing with cool water to stop the cooking process. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
  2. In the jar of a blender, combine the onion, basil, spinach, olive oil and lemon juice (start with ¼ cup). Puree until you have a fine smooth sauce. Season to taste with the kosher salt and additional lemon juice if desired. Set aside ¼ cup of the sauce and pour the remaining sauce into the pasta and toss it to coat the pasta evenly. Set aside.
  3. Toss the shrimp with the ¼ cup of the pesto and generously season the shrimp with kosher salt.
  4. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil to a sauté pan and heat it up over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, 4-5 at a time and cooking them for a minute or two. Flip and continue cooking until they are golden on the edges and just cooked through in the center.
  5. Add the shrimp, the olives and the cherry tomatoes to the pasta salad and toss everything together. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8

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Categorized: Pasta, Recipe Index, Salad
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As much as I love vacation, (especially when I get to sneak away alone with my husband!) it is always so good to get home. And the best part of all, being wrapping my arms around the girls. As a parent I am always grateful for the breaks, because they make me grateful to come home. I find that I am more cheerful, more patient, more engaged- a better parent. So coming home to chaos this week was ok by me. Plus I am so jetlagged that I think a lot of the trivial stuff is just whizzing past me without actually processing!

France was incredible. I swear I spent an entire week just eating and drinking. Oink oink. So why not just roll it into this Holiday week of course….

Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad with Shrimp

We are getting ready for a bunch of fun gatherings with friends over the long weekend, and I am planning to make this pasta salad for one of them. I actually brought it to a dinner at friends houses a few weeks ago, and it was a total hit. The pesto is mild in flavor so the kids loved it as much as the adults, and the cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives lended great pops of color and flavor.

Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad with Shrimp

Now you could certainly leave the pasta there and have a great vegetarian/vegan option, or you could add these delectable sautted shrimp! I just cooked them in a little of the pesto to add extra flavor and fried them up in olive oil. They stayed moist and juicy and were a wonderful compliment to all of the other flavors. This is perfect for potlucks and parties this weekend, it’s even better the second day!

Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad with Shrimp

 

Recipe: Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad with Shrimp (gluten free)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound short cut pasta (gluten free)
  • Spinach Pesto
  • 1/3 cup yellow onion, minced
  • 1 cup packed basil leaves
  • 2 cups spinach leaves
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ¼-1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • kosher salt
  • ½ pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Instructions

  1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, add the pasta. Cook until al dente and then drain, thoroughly rinsing with cool water to stop the cooking process. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
  2. In the jar of a blender, combine the onion, basil, spinach, olive oil and lemon juice (start with ¼ cup). Puree until you have a fine smooth sauce. Season to taste with the kosher salt and additional lemon juice if desired. Set aside ¼ cup of the sauce and pour the remaining sauce into the pasta and toss it to coat the pasta evenly. Set aside.
  3. Toss the shrimp with the ¼ cup of the pesto and generously season the shrimp with kosher salt.
  4. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil to a sauté pan and heat it up over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, 4-5 at a time and cooking them for a minute or two. Flip and continue cooking until they are golden on the edges and just cooked through in the center.
  5. Add the shrimp, the olives and the cherry tomatoes to the pasta salad and toss everything together. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8

Recipe by Heather Christo (http://heatherchristo.com)