Asparagus Pasta Salad with a Pistachio Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

300g Italpasta Artisan gemelli pasta (or any other pasta)

2 cups asparagus, cut in halves (washed and hard ends snapped off)

210 ml jar of sundried tomatoes, tomatoes chopped, and reserve 1 tbsp of the oil

200g mini mini bocconcini cheese

FOR THE PESTO

1 packed cup of fresh basil

1 large garlic clove

1/4 cup pistachios, de-shelled

2 heaping tbsp of shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook according to package directions. In the last 3-4 minutes of cooking add the asparagus (if your asparagus is thin you will want to only boil for 2-3 minutes). Drain and rinse under cold water. Transfer pasta and asparagus to a large serving bowl.

2. Add the sundried tomato and bocconcini cheese to the bowl of pasta and set aside.

3. In a small food processor combine all the pesto ingredients (go light on the salt and pepper as you can always add more later), and chop until you get a thick consistency with everything finely chopped.

4. Mix the pesto into the pasta bowl until all is combined. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy at room temperature or store in fridge and eat cold.