The pasta with zucchini pesto and cherry tomatoes is a tasty summer cold pasta recipe, ideal for using the zucchinis that flood our kitchens in the hot season. A first course that you can prepare at the last minute or in advance, better if you already have the zucchini pesto ready in the fridge, in this case just cook the pasta and dress it with pesto, cherry tomatoes and almond flakes.
I assure you that to make the zucchini pesto it only takes about ten minutes, practically while the pasta is cooking you can blend it, but you know what I do? When I have lots of zucchinis, I use them all in the pesto, put it in a glass jar, and keep it in the fridge ready to dress pasta, farro, rice etc., and how delicious my summer first courses become.
So let’s see how to prepare the pasta with zucchini pesto and yellow and red cherry tomatoes, a colorful dish that has all the flavors of summer. A simple and quick recipe that will win you over at first bite.
TRY ALSO:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
- Energy 603.43 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 62.66 (g) of which sugars 5.73 (g)
- Proteins 16.80 (g)
- Fat 32.53 (g) of which saturated 4.45 (g)of which unsaturated 2.95 (g)
- Fibers 4.78 (g)
- Sodium 1,209.67 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 210 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 11.3 oz gnocchetti sardi (or other short pasta)
- 3.5 oz yellow cherry tomatoes
- 3.5 oz red cherry tomatoes
- 1.4 oz almond flakes
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 5.3 oz zucchinis
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 0.9 oz grated parmesan cheese
- 0.7 oz almonds (or pine nuts)
- 0.2 oz basil
- to taste salt
Tools
- Mixer
Recipe for pasta with zucchini pesto and cherry tomatoes
Summer, fresh, fast!
Prepare the zucchini pesto by following all the steps of the recipe of raw zucchini and basil pesto using the weights of the ingredients listed in the table of this recipe.
Note: to prepare this cold pasta about 250 g. of condiment is enough, exactly half of the dose indicated in my basic zucchini pesto recipe.
Tip: you can make the complete dose with the ingredients listed in the zucchini pesto recipe and store the leftover in the fridge for another preparation.
Boil a pot of salted water and cook the pasta for the time indicated on the package, I used gnocchetti sardi with 10-11 minutes of cooking time.
Meanwhile, wash the basil leaves, the yellow and red cherry tomatoes, and have the zucchini pesto ready.
Once cooked, drain the pasta and without rinsing it under cold water add the zucchini pesto.
Mix well so that the pesto incorporates well with the gnocchetti, then add the almond flakes, the chopped tomatoes, adjust salt and dress with a drizzle of oil if needed.
All the flavors of summer in a cold pasta dish, this is how to describe the recipe for pasta with zucchini pesto and cherry tomatoes, simple and fresh but above all good!
Storage and Tips
Storage: you can store the pasta already dressed for 1-2 days in the refrigerator in a container with a lid.
Tip: you can use any type of short pasta like farfalle, casarecce, penne, etc.
If you want, you can try varying the recipe using Genoese pesto.
You can replace the almonds with pine nuts.
I suggest making the full dose of zucchini pesto and store the unused one in a jar in the fridge, it will be very useful for other recipes!
