Quick and Easy Pesto Pasta Salad

I can’t do my usual Saturday morning Famer’s Market “shop and socialize” thing this morning because I have a Board Retreat to attend.  Luckily, it is minutes from the market, so I am hoping to leave early, toting my potluck lunch item (you guessed, it, Pesto Pasta Salad) and grab at least some corn and potatoes before going to the meeting.

So, until I find time to post about the meal I made and documented last night, (using leftover grilled London Broil for pepper, onion, and cheese steak subs) this will be my weekend cooking post.

Bow Ties with Pesto, Feta and Cherry Tomatoes

Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman via FoodNetwork.com with some of my notes added

*  1 pound bow tie pasta (farfalle)  (I used a 14.5 ox of Barilla Plus)
* 3/4 cup Pesto (see my pesto post)
* 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Olive oil, as needed

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Stir in the bow ties and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and run it under cold water just until it stops steaming. Bounce the pasta around to get rid of as much water as you can.

Dump the pasta into a large serving bowl. Stir in the pesto until the pasta is coated. Toss in the cherry tomatoes and the crumbled feta. Taste the salad and season it as you like with salt and pepper. You can make the salad up to about 1 hour before you serve it. Check out the salt and pepper just before you serve the salad. If it’s looking a little dry, add some olive oil and stir it around.

And, voila!

I have not actually tried it yet and, since the recipe says to serve within an hour of serving, I am not sure how it will be after being chilled during the morning part of our meeting.  Well, only one way to find out.  I’ll update this post about it later.