Summer Pasta Salad

Summer is here, barbecues, picnics... there's no doubt that eating outdoors is a highlight of summer. Make the most of it with this summer pasta salad. This is fresh, fun, super easy pasta salad. It’s dressed in a pesto dressing and I promise you won’t be able to stop at just one bite.

I usually like my pasta salad loaded with a ton of veggies, cheeses, and meats – like tuna, chicken, shredded beef– but since I wanted something simple and fast, I decided to shake things up and try a new recipe. It turned out to be so simple, so fresh and so summery!

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 red onion
• 1 big cucumber
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• pasta
• pine nuts
• some pitted olives
• 3 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1 cup chopped parsley

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp pesto
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Cook the pasta. Rinse and drain and allow it to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chopped cucumbers, chopped cherry tomatoes, olives,

Dressing: In a small bowl, mix together the pesto, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. The dressing can be refrigerated until you’re ready to serve the salad. When you’re ready to serve, add the Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts into the salad and toss to combine. Dress with the prepared dressing and taste test for seasonings.