Chicken and Farfalle Salad with Walnut Pesto Recipe

To make sure the walnut pesto ingredients are evenly minced, stop the food processor halfway through processing, and scrape down the sides.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta; about 6 ounces)
  • 2 cups cubed cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast
  • 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives
  • 1 cup basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 4 curly leaf lettuce leaves

Directions

To prepare salad, cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; rinse with cold water. Combine pasta, chicken, tomatoes, and olives in a large bowl.

To prepare walnut pesto, combine basil and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until finely minced. Add pesto to pasta mixture, tossing gently to coat. Place 1 lettuce leaf on each of 4 plates; top each serving with salad mixture.