Hi Everyone,
I am so excited about today’s post because I am hosting my very first #SundaySupper! So for today’s event, #SundaySupper teamed up with American Family Insurance to share with you recipes from the garden. Being that it is spring time, my favorite time of the year, one of my most favorite fruit from the garden is in season, which is strawberries! I love strawberries! I can not get enough of them and I fill myself up with them all summer long. So today I thought I would share with you one of my newest favorite pasta dishes, Strawberry Basil Pasta Salad! YUM!!!
This salad has it all it’s sweet, savory and chock full of strawberries and fresh basil from my garden. Plus to give it a little boost of flavor I topped it with some candies walnuts and of course fresh mozzarella. Even though I don’t show you in the pictures, I also made a simple homemade balsamic dressing to go over the salad. It is a perfect blend of balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. It’s simplydelicious!
Do you have a vegetable garden? I didn’t have one last year because my dog Sampson kept eating everything, so this year I decided to grow a vegetable garden in the front yard. It is thriving very nicely. I have tomatoes, peppers, basil, sage, oregano, cucumbers and zucchini growing. One of the best pieces of advice I can give when growing a vegetable garden that has tomatoes, is to plant your basil next to the tomatoes. For some reason planting these two together, really gives the tomatoes extra flavor. Remember that when growing your garden. If you don’t have room for a vegetable garden in your yard, you should make a container garden. Grow one or two of your favorite vegetables or make a pot of herbs. Herbs are easy to grow and really makes a difference in your cooking. Plus growing your own vegetables, you can have a nice organic garden, and the most tasty fruits and vegetables ever! Trust me, nothing beats homegrown fruit and vegetables!
A sweet and savory pasta salad made with pesto filled tortellini, fresh strawberries, basil and topped with candied walnuts and a simple homemade balsamic dressing.
Ingredients
- 2 10 oz. pkg. pesto tortellini
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups strawberries, cut in half if large in size
- 12 mozzarella balls
- 10 basil leaves, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup candied walnuts, diced small
- Dressing:
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to directions on package. Pour into a bowl, and add 1 tbsp. olive oil and salt; mix well. Let the pasta cool.
- Once pasta is cooled; add strawberries, mozzarella balls and basil leaves; mix well.
- To make dressing; in a bowl add balsamic vinegar, garlic, mustard and olive oil and whisk until combined. Pour over pasta salad; mix well. Top salad with candied walnuts. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Note: If making in advance; pour dressing over salad, just before serving.
Notes
Calories per 1 1/2 cups: 276, Fat: 12, Cholesterol: 18, Sodium: 236, Potassium: 66, Carbs: 31, Fiber: 3, Sugar: 4, Protein: 11
I have to tell you this salad would be perfect for a picnic, serving as a main meal for lunch or dinner or simply having as a side dish next to hot dogs and hamburgers. I just love how light and refreshing it is. It’s not a heavy pasta dish, which I just love!
I highly recommend checking out the Food in your Garden #ChooseDreams Pinterest board to get more ideas on fresh, beautiful recipes from the garden. You can go here to check it out!!
You can also check out AM Fam Social Media Sites below:
I also wanted to let you know that Dennis from Culinary Journey, Isabel from Family Foodie and myself are hosting a live chat to discuss Recipes from the Garden on Wednesday, May 28th at 5pm (CST). I would love it if you came. Chef Dennis and Isabel will be doing a live cooking demo and I will be there to give tips and more. So stop by and check it out, we would love for you to come. You can go here!
Remember to get outside, enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and most of all get your hands dirty in the garden.
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!
Toodles,
Jennifer
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Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our#SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here—>Sunday Supper Movement.
This post is sponsored by American Family Insurance. All opinions are my own.
Love the tomato and basil trick! And I love the sweet and savory combo. Basil and strawberries work so well together!
I have to agree basil and strawberries are amazing together! Fun combo!
What a beautiful salad. So many wonderful elements to it.
Thank you Renee! It was fun to make and even more fun to eat!
Thank you for hosting such a great event! What a fun pasta salad! I love the colors and the brightness, sweetness that the strawberries add.
Thank you so much Shannon! I love the strawberries in this dish too!
I love basil and strawberries together! Pasta brings this dish full circle! Thanks for hosting!
Thank you so much Cindy!
That’s awesome your garden is in the front yard! Silly dog! What a fantastic salad, I just everything you’ve combined especially the sweet strawberries and candied walnuts.
What an inventive combo! The candied walnuts…the mozz balls…the strawberries…the pesto tort….I can’t decide which ingredient I like more! Thank you for hosting us today. It’s such a fun topic.
Thanks Dorothy! I had fun hosting this week, but boy is it a lot of work! You Guys do a great job!!
What an extraordinary combination of ingredients in this salad! We had a French Fridays dish that combined mozz, basil and strawberries, so I know this pasta salad tastes amazing! Thanks for hosting us this week!!
Thanks Liz! Yes with the pasta it added a little more umph then without the pasta!
What a beautiful dish of pasta! I love the strawberries in there!
Drool — this recipe sounds fantastic!!
Who would have thought that I could mix pasta and strawberry! I can’t wait to find out what pesto, pasta and strawberries will taste like. Delicious, I bet!!
This pasta salad looks so good, all of my favorite stuff in it–too bad I can’t eat it for quite some time. And yes, we have a garden every summer. This year we’re growing red onions, tomatoes, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, peas, spinach, and lettuce. We also have a fruit garden that contains raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. The berries always come up really well and we always have enough strawberries to make two pies during the season.
Also, I made my first smoothie thanks to your advice. It tasted amazing and it’s such a better breakfast than chicken broth. I’m home from the hospital and my throat is healing, but no talking for two weeks–that’s the worst part!!!!
Hi Samantha! I’m glad the smoothies are working out for you. I can’t imagine how good chicken broth would taste for breakfast, blah! Don’t worry you will recover soon and you will be eating and talking in no time! Wow, your garden sounds just beautiful! I would love to have a berry garden! I would be out there all of the time picking fresh berries! Yummy!! Have a wonderful day and feel better!
Pasta salad is the ultimate summer party good. I also really like the combination of basil and strawberries!
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Thanks Shaina! I love basil and strawberries together too, such a wonderful combination.
My parents were just over for dinner, and my mom wondering about how to make a salad with strawberries and pasta. I pointed her to your tasty recipe here…she can’t wait to make it (me too!) Thank you SO much for hosting!
Thank you so much Alida! I hope she likes it! It’s such a fun salad!
Looks so colorful and tasty Jennifer. You are always coming up with something fun.
Thank you so much Chris! I’ve missed you, for some reason I haven’t been getting your posts e-mailed to me.
I love what you’ve put in this salad! I can’t wait to try it, thanks again for hosting!
I have to keep my container garden in the front yard also, otherwise I’m pretty sure little paws would dig it up.
This is such an interesting combination. It sounds delicious.
Thank you so much! Oh yes, I understand about the little paws, mine is more like big mouths! lol
Strawberries and basil are a match made in heaven! I love this pasta salad Jennifer
thanks so much for hosting this weeks event!!
Ahhhh, thank you so much!!