Kale & Basil Pesto Pasta Salad

Chef's Notes

Notes

If your pasta salad is dry after assembly, toss it with an extra drizzle of olive oil.
Substitutions. This recipe is very forgiving - adapt it to use what you have on hand! The fresh kale adds a bit of bitterness to this pesto: for a mellower sauce, swap extra basil for some or all of the kale. You can also blanch and drain the kale before making the pesto if you like, but we find you don’t really need to add that extra step. Omit the parmesan cheese in the pesto if you like. Use pine nuts in place of walnuts, or leave the nuts out entirely.
Additions. Add grilled corn, roasted veggies (sweet potato, butternut squash, zucchini), chickpeas, sliced olives, or any other pasta salad veggies you love! 
To make this vegetarian, omit the crispy prosciutto and be sure to use a parmesan cheese made without rennet. 
To make this vegan, omit the parmesan, mozzarella, and prosciutto. You can add chickpeas or grilled corn in place of the mozzarella pearls if you like!

If your pasta salad is dry after assembly, toss it with an extra drizzle of olive oil.
Substitutions. This recipe is very forgiving - adapt it to use what you have on hand! The fresh kale adds a bit of bitterness to this pesto: for a mellower sauce, swap extra basil for some or all of the kale. You can also blanch and drain the kale before making the pesto if you like, but we find you don’t really need to add that extra step. Omit the parmesan cheese in the pesto if you like. Use pine nuts in place of walnuts, or leave the nuts out entirely.
Additions. Add grilled corn, roasted veggies (sweet potato, butternut squash, zucchini), chickpeas, sliced olives, or any other pasta salad veggies you love! 
To make this vegetarian, omit the crispy prosciutto and be sure to use a parmesan cheese made without rennet. 
To make this vegan, omit the parmesan, mozzarella, and prosciutto. You can add chickpeas or grilled corn in place of the mozzarella pearls if you like!