Zesty Shrimp Pasta Salad

Pasta salads are a favorite summertime meal as they require minimal effort and can be prepared well ahead of time. We wanted to add sweet shrimp to the mix and prepare a spicy “pesto” to flavor the salad. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Pesto is a catch-all term for ingredients ground to a paste; classic basil with pine nuts and Parmesan is simply an example. For this salad, we combined basil with cilantro, walnuts, lime, jalapeno, and anchovies into a complex-flavored paste bold and sharp enough to flavor a pasta salad. Because seafood dishes are usually prepared without cheese, we omitted the Parmesan.
• Toast the walnuts in a skillet over medium heat to maximize their flavor.
• Even if you don’t like anchovies, use them here because they add valuable flavor. Their fishy bite disappears when combined with the other ingredients.
• Make sure to thoroughly season the water in which the pasta is cooked; otherwise the pasta’s flavor will be bland. We recommend 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon of water.