Fresh Pesto and Tomato Pasta

With its fresh pesto and tomato flavors I knew immediately that we would love this recipe I found over at the Sisters' Cafe. The kids thought it was such fun helping me collect 5 whole cups of basil leaves from our plant to make the pesto and ended up loving it as much as we adults did. Serve it up with homemade bread sticks and a salad for a simple, healthy dinner!

(I used a bit too much of the pasta water in thinning mine, so it didn't turn out as green as I'd expected. The flavor, however, was still fantastic!)

The ingredients:Click here for printable recipe.

1 cup basil pesto (I used this recipe from Sisters' Cafe)
1 lb. penne pasta
6-8 cups diced fresh tomatoes
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Basil leaves
Shredded Parmesan cheese

Prepare basil pesto. Store in refrigerator or freeze until ready to serve (see link above for a great recipe!)

Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Just before draining the pasta into a colander, remove ~ 1/2 cup of the pasta water; set aside. Drain the pasta, put back into the pot, and then stir in the Basil Pesto and the reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, to create a sauce. Add diced tomatoes and toss to coat thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer onto individual serving plates and garnish with fresh basil leaves and shredded Parmesan cheese. Makes 8 servings.

Enjoy!