Pesto Pasta Salad in Your Pressure Cooker
A vibrant and fresh pesto pasta salad, effortlessly made in a pressure cooker, perfect for quick meals.
Equipment
- 1 Pressure cooker
- 1 Big bowl For tossing the salad
- 1 Smaller bowl For mixing dressing
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole grain pasta like fusilli, rotini, penne or farfalle
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
- 3 handfuls baby arugula or spinach for fresh green kick
- Optional cheeses feta, mozzarella balls, or grated Parmesan
- Optional extras Kalamata olives sliced thin or chickpeas
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ cup pepitas hulled pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup fresh basil packed
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley packed or more basil
- ¼ cup lemon juice about 2 lemons
- 1 clove garlic roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil to blend it all smooth
Instructions
Instructions
- Pop your pressure cooker on with the pasta and just enough water to cover it. Cook according to package instructions but subtract a minute or two so it stays al dente.
- When cooking time’s up, do a natural release for about 5 minutes, then slow release the rest so you don’t get that valve hiss shock.
- Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and cool it down for the salad.
- In a big bowl, toss the cooled pasta with the cherry tomatoes and baby arugula or spinach for that fresh, peppery bite.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the lemon juice, fresh basil, parsley, garlic, black pepper, salt, and olive oil to create your vibrant pesto dressing.
- Pour this dressing over the pasta mixture and toss it all together gently but thoroughly. Top with pepitas before serving for a little crunch that’s oh so good.
Notes
Serve the salad with freshly grated cheese or your choice of extras like olives or chickpeas for additional flavor and texture.