Pesto, Roasted Tomato & Mushroom Pasta Salad

This is an example of how to employ the freshly made pesto of my previous post. This summery pasta salad is best served at room temperature; a quality that makes it great lunch box filler, bursting with flavour and goodness. You'll make all your colleagues with their fridge cold, packaged ham and cheese sandwiches green with envy :-)

INGREDIENTS (for one person)

• 80 gr of fusilli (or any other short shaped pasta)
• 200 gr of cherry tomatoes. Choose some deep red, ripe ones as they'll be sweeter
• 200 gr of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of pesto
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Oregano
• Salt & pepper

Put the cherry tomatoes in a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano, and roast them for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180°C. Leave them on the side to cool down.

Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan, then add the peeled clove of garlic and let it fry for a couple of minutes, to infuse the oil with its flavour. Fry the mushrooms in the pan at high heat until they are soft and caramelised. Discard the garlic clove, season the mushrooms with salt and pepper and reserve them for later.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions, subtracting one minute from the recommended cooking time to ensure it is nice and al dente. Drain it and cool it under a tap of running cold water, to stop it from overcooking. Toss the pesto, mushrooms and roasted tomatoes with the pasta and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Pronto!