Pesto and Fresh Tomato Fusilli

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Course Main Dishes
Prep. Time 5 mins
Cooking Time 11 mins
Yields 4 servings

Top rated

A fast dinner doesn’t get any better – or easier – than this! A few great-tasting ingredients combine into one terrific pasta dish.

Ingredients

12 oz (375) fusilli or

other short pasta

1 cup (250 mL) 10% half-and-half, 18% table or

35% whipping cream

1/3 cup (75 mL) prepared basil pesto

2 cups (500 mL) chopped fresh tomatoes or

halved grape tomatoes

Salt

Pepper

1/4 cup (50 mL) black olives

2 tbsp (30 mL) pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup (50 mL) freshly grated Canadian Parmesan cheese

Did you know?

The fat in whipped cream is rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a substance that may decrease the risk of some types of cancers.

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Preparation

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for about 9 min or until tender but firm, or according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup (250 ml) of the pasta cooking water.

Return pot to medium heat and add cream and pesto. Heat, stirring, for 2 min or until steaming. Return pasta to pot; add tomatoes and toss to combine, adding enough of the pasta water to moisten to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve topped with olives, pine nuts and Canadian Parmesan cheese.

Tips

If local field tomatoes aren’t in season, often the greenhouse-grown grape tomatoes or tomatoes-on-the-vine have great flavor – even in those cold fall and winter months.

For the Adventurous: Add one 7 oz (210 ml) jar drained marinated artichoke hearts, chopped or 2 cups (500 ml) chopped grilled or roasted asparagus with the tomatoes

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