Cold Pasta with Celery Pesto

Cold pasta with celery pesto is an unusual but very fresh and light dish, perfect for the warmer periods. Let’s see the ingredients and how to prepare this dish immediately.

Ingredients

• 320 g of short pasta (penne, fusilli, farfalle, etc.)
• 1 bunch of celery
• 1 clove of garlic
• 30 g of pine nuts
• 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tuft of parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil as needed
• Salt as needed
• Black pepper as needed

Preparation

1. Thoroughly wash the celery stalks and remove the toughest strings. Cut it into pieces.
2. Toast the pine nuts in a pan until they are golden brown. Be careful not to burn them, otherwise, they will become bitter.
3. In a blender, put the pieces of celery, garlic (peeled and with the central germ removed), toasted pine nuts, Parmesan, parsley, a pinch of salt and pepper, and blend everything by adding oil in a stream until you get a creamy and homogeneous consistency.
4. Adjust the celery pesto with salt and pepper and set it aside.
5. Bring a pot with plenty of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente.
6. Drain the pasta and pass it under cold water to stop the cooking and cool it quickly.
7. Put the cold pasta in a large bowl, add the celery pesto, and mix well to make the dressing adhere.
8. Let the celery pesto pasta cool completely in the refrigerator before serving.

To enrich the dish: you can add halved cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, or Parmesan flakes for more flavor and texture.

Curiosity: Celery pesto is a lighter variant compared to the classic Genoese pesto, and its origins are modern. It was born from creativity and the desire to experiment with different vegetables to discover new combinations and tastes.