Pasta Salad with Asparagus + Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

This pasta salad was good, but a little bland.  Next time, I'll take the first ingredients and make a pesto to go over it.  And the original recipe called for tortellini, which would have helped too.  Though for a dinner party, which this was made for, the bowties were a good, cheaper substitute.

I also made way too much - always do with pasta.  And the original recipe serves 8-10, which is huge.  So the recipe here is cut down.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup Fresh Basil
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Garlic Clove
Salt + Pepper, to taste
1 package Asparagus, chopped
1 large package Tortellini (or Bowties)
1/4 cup Toasted Pine Nuts
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, halved

1. Boil water and add tortellini, cook until done.  Toss with a little olive oil and place in a large bowl (big enough to hold the whole salad).

2. Chop off hard ends of asparagus, and chop into 1-inch pieces.  Steam or boil until done.  Add to bowl and toss together.

The original recipe asked you to boil the asparagus, take it out of the water with a slotted spoon when done, and cook the pasta in the same water.  Let me tell you - not worth it.  Those little buggers are hard to get out.

3. Add halved cherry tomatoes and pine nuts to the bowl.

4. Puree olive oil, basil, lemon juice, garlic and parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a blender to make a pesto sauce.  Add to bowl and toss. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Finally - Add as much cheese as you damn well please.

If you want to make this in advance, you can cover it and refrigerate for a day.  To freshen it, add in a spoonful of olive oil and lemon juice.

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Original Recipe:

My Sister's Kitchen