Pesto adds taste of summer to homemade pasta salad

Pesto is probably my favorite condiment. This delicious concoction gives everything a taste of summer, and since it freezes well, fresh pesto can be enjoyed year round.

Pesto has many uses. It can be a warm pasta sauce, a garnish for soup, a non-tomato pizza sauce, a spread for sandwiches or simply tossed with veggies. In this nontraditional pasta salad, I use pesto as the sauce.

Homemade pesto is easy to make and a great way to use the fresh basil that is plentiful this time of year.

Simply place about 2 cups of fresh basil leaves and about cup of pine nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add a few cloves of garlic, and pulse a few times more. With the food processor running, slowly add ½ cup of olive oil in a constant stream. For the finishing touch, add a little grated Parmesan cheese and pulse again until blended. Be sure to season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Freeze what you are not using that day in ice cube trays. This way you always have just the right portion on hand. In the winter, if you are using store-bought pesto, freeze the leftovers for another day in just the same way.

When making a cold pasta salad, I mix my pesto with a little mayonnaise. I find that this simple step makes my dressing creamier as well as helps the pesto stay vibrant green longer.

I like to use corkscrew-shaped pasta for this salad because it holds the sauce, but feel free to use whatever short pasta you have on hand.

I add thawed, frozen green peas to give extra flavor and a pop of color to the salad. Or feel free to toss in your favorite vegetables. Cherry tomatoes, diced peppers and even olives all would be delicious additions. That’s the beauty of pasta salad: There really are no rules.