Chilled Penne Pasta and Spinach Salad

Chilled Penne Pasta and Spinach Salad

Description:

Choose your favorite pasta shape and GO FOR IT! For the Pesto in this recipe, our own Basil Pesto recipe is a marvelous choice. And don't be concerned what to do with any left over pesto you may have, just spoon it into an ice cube tray, freeze, pop them out and store in a zip-lock container.

Ingredients for 8 Portions:

4	cups	Penne Pasta
4	cups	Sweet Onion
2	Tbsp.	Garlic Cloves
4	cups	Mushrooms
1	each	Roasted Red Peppers (15 oz. jar)
1/4	cup	Pine Nuts, Whole
1/4	cup	Pistachio Nuts, Whole
1/2	cup	Pesto
33/100	cup	Mayonnaise
33/100	cup	Sour Cream
2	Tbsp.	Lemon Juice, Fresh
1	each	Baby Spinach, Fresh (10 oz bag)
8	cups	Water, Salted
1/2	cup	Green Onion
2	Tbsp.	Olive Oil
1	cup	Sun Dried Tomatoes
1/2	cup	Parmesan Cheese, Fresh
-		Salt, Kosher
-		Cracked Black Pepper
1/8	tsp.	Hot Sauce (Tabasco)
4	drops	Liquid Smoke
-		Ground Black Pepper
Portions:

Preparation

Cook penne pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Rinse in cold water, drain well and reserve in a large bowl.
In a medium size, non-stick frying pan, add 2 TBSP olive oil and saute sweet onions unitl soft. Add green onions and garlic pieces to the partially cooked onions and continue to saute until onions are golden brown and garlic pieces are also soft and cooked through. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Add to cooled pasta.
In same pan, add 2 TBSP olive oil once again , then add mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are soft, then golden brown. Remove mushrooms from the pan, allow to cool and add to pasta.
Add roasted peppers, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, and parmesan cheese to the pasta bowl and toss all ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper. Toss again.
Mix together pesto, mayonnaise, sour cream, and hot sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Toss this pesto dressing into pasta as desired to bind and flavor mix.
Add 1/2 of baby spinach and toss into salad. Reserve remaining 1/2 of spinach to use as a bed on a serving platter.
Portion and serve.