Pesto Pasta Salad

Summer is in full roar. The heat in Tampa has gone from assertive to vengeful, and the air conditioning in my car is working overtime while I shuttle between showings in neighborhoods where the sprinklers run at dawn and the lawns are green and the asking prices climb like the temperature. I closed on a waterfront condo in Harbour Island this week — my most expensive sale to date. The commission check will be substantial. I will not say how substantial because Greek women do not discuss money directly; we discuss it through food. The bigger the celebration dinner, the bigger the check. Tonight's dinner was grilled lamb chops, which tells you everything you need to know.

Alexander is thriving at his summer job. He comes home every evening talking about spreadsheets and filing systems and the peculiar satisfaction of organizing someone else's chaos. He is his mother's son — we both build order from disorder. I do it with houses. He does it with data. Nikos did it with sponges. The Papadopoulos compulsion to organize the world is genetic and unstoppable.

Sophia is at science camp and sends me daily texts that are equal parts scientific enthusiasm and cafeteria complaints. The experiments are incredible, Mom. The food is terrible. I offered to pack her lunches. She said no. She said she is fifteen — wait, she is fourteen. She is fourteen and fighting for independence and I am letting her fight because the fight itself is the lesson. You learn to feed yourself by being hungry. I learned this the hard way in college, eating ramen for a month because Mama was forty miles away. Sophia will learn it at science camp with bad cafeteria pizza.

I made the lamb chops with a chimichurri-inspired Greek herb sauce — parsley, oregano, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar — because sometimes Greek food and Argentine food are the same food wearing different hats. The meat was seared hot and fast, the inside pink, the outside charred. I ate on the back porch with a glass of cold white wine and the satisfaction of a woman who just closed the biggest deal of her career and is celebrating with the best thing she knows how to make.

Mama called to say the bakery sold out of everything before noon on Saturday. The tourist season is the strongest she has seen in years. She sounded proud and exhausted, which is her permanent state from June through September. I said hire help. She said I do not need help. I said you need help, Mama. She said what I need is for you to come on Saturday. I will come on Saturday. I always come on Saturday. The bakery does not stop and neither do we.

The lamb chops were the star, and they deserved to be — but every celebration needs a supporting cast, and on a night like this one, I wanted something herb-bright and cold that could hold its own next to a charred, pink-centered chop. Pesto pasta salad is the answer I keep coming back to: it carries the same green, garlicky energy as my chimichurri-Greek sauce, it gets better as it sits, and it requires almost nothing from me after a day of closing paperwork and champagne toasts with clients. The biggest deals deserve the fullest table.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min (plus 30 min chilling) | Servings: 6

Ingredients

12 oz rotini or fusilli pasta
1/2 cup basil pesto, store-bought or homemade
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/2 cup shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the rotini according to package directions until al dente, about 10–12 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and cool the pasta completely.
Make the dressing. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pesto, olive oil, and red wine vinegar until smooth and well combined.
Combine. Add the cooled pasta to the bowl and toss to coat evenly in the pesto dressing. Fold in the cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Add the finishing touches. Scatter the toasted pine nuts and shaved Parmesan over the salad. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Toss gently one more time.
Chill and serve. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors meld. Garnish with torn fresh basil just before plating. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pesto Pasta Salad — The Herb-Forward Side That Belongs at Every Big Celebration