martha goes green

a vegetarian cookbook

Pesto pasta salad

serves 4


  • 400g penne pasta
  • ½ Tbsp oil
  • ½ red onion, sliced
  • ¾ cup sliced black olives
  • ¾ cup roughly chopped sundried
       tomatoes
  • ½ cup roughly torn basil leaves
  • 4 Tbsp pesto
  • 2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
  • 200g feta cheese (optional)



Cook penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente (firm to the bite). Drain pasta and set aside to cool.

Heat oil in a small to medium sized pan. Add onion and cook until soft. Remove from heat and add olives, sun dried tomatoes, basil leaves and pesto and stir to combine. In a large bowl toss together cooled pasta, pesto mixture and toasted pine nuts until thoroughly mixed. If desired, serve topped with crumbled feta.

image of pesto pasta salad.