Arugula-Cilantro-Lime Pesto Pasta Salad

A photo posted by Höķm Guerrerø (@revmcnasty) on Apr 29, 2015 at 1:55pm PDT

 

For the Pesto:

2.5 cups baby arugula
1 cup cilantro
3 TBSP lime juice
a small chunk of parm (2-3 TBSP worth)
1/2 cup of a nut (i used walnuts)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic

1. Put all ingredients into a food processor (or device equivalent).  Blend.  Add more olive oil as needed to reach desired consistency.  Salt & Pepper to taste.

You can use salted nuts, if that's all you have, but make sure you adjust the added salt to compensate.

For the Pasta:

1.  Cook a half pound of orzo as directed.  Drain and let cool.
2.  Add pesto to cover.
3. Clean out the fridge/cabinets.  This is the fun part; use your imagination!  For mine I added: 2 julienne carrots, 1 julienne zucchini, sliced olives, crumbled Gorgonzola, half of an onion (diced), half a red bell pepper (diced), some chopped sun-dried tomatoes, half a jalapeno (diced), chopped marinated artichoke hearts and a little extra Olive Oil and lime juice.  Add more pesto as needed.  
4. Let sit in fridge for at least 3 hours before serving for flavors to blend.
5. Top with roasted chick peas before serving.

Roasted chick peas should not be stored in the fridge.